In a Knot
by bluejaygal
Summary: AH. Lulu and Maxie own a successful business that takes up most of their time. But when their personal lives get more complicated, can they keep the business afloat? Couples include Lulu/Dante, Maxie/Lucky, Kristina/Ethan and Michael/Starr.
1. Chapter 1

_This is an AU story. I got the concept after reading Nora Roberts' Bridal Quartet. There are a few pieces of background information to note._

_Luke and Laura were killed in a car accident six years prior to where the story begins. At the time of their death, Lucky was working for the NYPD and Lulu was studying overseas for college. They both returned to Port Charles after losing their parents and have not left since._

_Lucky has never been married, nor does he have children. He and Elizabeth were in a relationship for three years, and their relationship ended after he moved to New York City to go to the police academy. While he was away, he found out that Elizabeth and Nikolas were having an affair, blowing apart his relationship with his long-time girlfriend and brother. Nikolas and Elizabeth decided to move to Paris. Lucky and Lulu have had little contact with either of them._

_Ethan came to Port Charles with Holly three years after Luke's death. He has been creating a relationship with his siblings and working at Jake's._

_Dante was Lucky's partner when they were on the NYPD. They have been friends since attending the police academy together, and within six months of Lucky's transfer to the PCPD, Dante took an open position with the department to help his friend who was struggling to keep everything together after his parents' deaths._

_Olivia told Dante who his father was when he moved to Port Charles, but gave him the chance to decide whether or not he wanted to tell Sonny. Dante has not told anybody, including Lucky, about the identity of his father. He has tried to get to know his siblings, though, without cluing them in that his is their brother._

_Georgie was killed only a few months after Luke and Laura's accident. Maxie and Lulu became close friends as they helped each other through their grief. Both struggled to focus on school, so when Maxie developed a business plan to run their own business, they stopped taking classes and put all of their time into their new event planning business._

_The rest of the AU background will be explained as we go along. _

**Chapter One**

_**(Lulu's POV)**_

In my opinion, the best part of a wedding is the moment when the last guest had left the building and I can take a seat at a table of partially filled champagne glasses and wedding cake crumbs. When Maxie drew up our business plan, we knew that weddings would have to be our main focus to keep ourselves afloat financially, but I never considered that the decision would require us to work the craziest hours known to man.

There I was, exhausted and not even halfway through the cleanup, at 1:30 a.m. on December 24th. This evening's groom had spent six months convincing his bride that getting married on Christmas Day would aggravate their guests and cost much more than they had budgeted, but her insistence only died down when a friend mentioned that she would forever share her anniversary with the most commercialized holiday of the year, meaning that she would rarely get gifts for both occasions. Within minutes, she called me demanding that they move the wedding back to the closest Saturday to Christmas Day in order to keep their winter wonderland theme intact.

"Good news," Maxie announced as she came out of the kitchen. "The photographer, caterer and florist have been paid, and I found an extra bottle of champagne!"

I let out a soft moan and kicked off my shoes. "I should turn you down since Lucky will be here any minute to drag me out of town, but that is the distinct reason why I need this so badly."

"I will never understand why you are incapable of saying no to your brother," she started, sitting next to me and pouring two glasses of champagne. "Granted, it would probably be a hell of a lot easier if you moved out of that house to give each other some space. Still, if you don't want to go, then just don't go."

We each took a sip of champagne and shared a moment of silent bliss before our debate began. Maxie was constantly pushing me to move out of my family home. While I had never pictured living under the same roof as my brother in my mid-twenties, I refused to consider any alternative. Neither of us could afford the mortgage payments on our own and giving up the house that meant so much to my mother seemed wrong.

"It's Christmas, Maxie. I have a feeling that me announcing to Lucky that I don't feel like going to Dante's mother's house with him is not going to make it a very good holiday."

In all of the years before, Christmas consisted of Lucky and me rummaging through my mother's box of ornaments to try and recreate the Christmas trees that she constructed for us every year throughout our childhood. We never even got close to what it used to feel like, but I always told Lucky that it was perfect. He tried so hard to keep all of our traditions alive, and I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was an impossible feat.

"I don't understand why he thinks that going to Bensonhurst with the _boy_ _wonder_ is going to be so great," Maxie remarked with disdain in her voice. Dante was the one person in our social circle that she could not hide her annoyance with. While neither of them ever talked about what fueled their irritation with one another, I had a theory.

When Maxie and Dante first met, she was drunk and certainly not trying to conceal her flirtation with him. Full of pickup lines and jokes, Dante happily played along. When they both disappeared at the end of the night, I knew that they spent the night together. Obviously it did not end well, because the two of them took more pleasure in picking on one another than ever considering repeating their obvious one-night stand.

"Lucky wasn't sure when Dante first brought it up," I explained, choosing to avoid the Dante-is-not-such-a-bad-guy speech that time. "I talked him into it. I just thought that if he didn't have to try so hard for one year, he could get past his insane need to make Christmas perfect for me."

"You two need serious counseling," Maxie sighed, refilling her glass. "If you spent half as much time finding a suitable man to whisk you out of that house full of haunted memories as you do appeasing Lucky, we'd both be much happier."

"I don't need a man," I groaned. "And I don't see how this hypothetical guy and I finding eternal bliss would make your life any better."

"Well… you would be a little more enthusiastic if you got laid every once in a while," she began. "How long has it been? Six, seven months?"

I shook my head in disbelief that she was goading me into this topic. "Two, and you knew that before you even asked. Johnny has been out of town for two months."

"I know it was my idea for you to go along with the friends with benefits thing with Johnny, but you seriously need to take advantage of the no strings attached part of the deal. He leaves town for months, so you should be finding something other than a vibrator to ring your bell."

"Maxie!"

I had not heard the elevator doors open or close, but when I heard a man clearing his throat behind me, I felt my cheeks turn red. Even though Lucky and I were adults, he had a hard time letting go. I never brought dates home with me or discussed them with him, mainly to keep any men in my life from the scrutiny that my detective brother could provide. Needless to say, I was relieved when I turned around and it was Dante.

"Eavesdrop much?" Maxie griped, standing up from her seat and pulling the champagne off of the table.

"I don't think it's called eavesdropping if I'm out in the open," he responded. "And by the way, Merry Christmas, Maxie."

"Yeah, yeah, where's Lucky?"

I laid my head on the table, half out of embarrassment that Dante heard our conversation and half out of exhaustion. If history was any indication, Maxie could pick a fight with Dante that would go on for hours.

"He's laid out on the bathroom floor at the moment," Dante explained. "Stomach flu. I told him that I'd give Lulu a ride home, but he insisted that we go on to Bensonhurst without him."

I closed my eyes and started counting down in my head _3,2,1…_ When Maxie remained silent, I sat up and looked at her. Something must have been running through her mind, because she didn't say a word. With her, that was never a good sign.

"That's very chivalrous of my brother, but I'm not going to impose on your family Christmas," I spoke up. "Besides, if Lucky's sick, he probably shouldn't be home alone for three days."

Dante took Maxie's vacated seat and helped himself to a bite of the cake she left. "I told him you'd say that. And he said that he's sure he's contagious and he doesn't want to ruin your holiday by getting you sick."

"You all make me sick," Maxie groaned, picking up her purse and shaking her head in disapproval. "Lulu, just save us all some time and do exactly as Lucky commands. I'll see you back at work in a few days."

Two hours later, I woke up in the passenger's seat of Dante's car. The snow on the roads was at least three inches higher than it had been when we left the Metro Court, which explained why we were still in transit. Between the champagne and my general level of exhaustion, it took exactly three minutes for me to fall asleep once Dante started driving.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take a turn behind the wheel?" I questioned with a yawn. "I feel bad that you're doing all the driving when I'm already imposing on your Christmas with your mom."

Dante laughed softly. "I'm making a rule for the rest of the trip. You can't tell me that you feel bad or apologize about anything from here on out. Understood?"

"Sorry…"

"Oh my God," he shook his head. "Lulu – stop! My ma is on cloud nine that she has someone else to cook for this year. She's already told the whole Falconeri clan that you'll be there. Imposing is the last thing you're doing."

"If your mom is so excited about having someone else around for the holidays, why didn't she have more kids? I mean, don't you ever wish you weren't an only child?"

The snow outside lit his face, which I watched turn stoic after I finished my question. Dante had always been pretty straightforward about his mother. I knew that she was from a big Italian family and that she got pregnant when she was very young. He had shared a number of stories about the woman, all in which he portrayed her as an extraordinary mother.

"I didn't mean to get too personal," I admitted slowly. "You don't have to answer that."

"No, it's okay," he responded quickly, plastering a smile on his face to reassure me. "My ma never really dated. She was pretty busy with me, and finding someone to settle down with was never a high priority for her."

"My parents never wanted more than one kid," I offered, as if sharing more about my family history would deflect pressure off of him. The way Dante spoke about his mother and her dedication indicated to me that there was some degree of guilt that he felt about her situation. In a small way, I was happy that I was not the only person on the planet with a relative who sacrificed for me in such a profound way.

"I don't believe that for a second," he countered. "Lucky is always talking about how your parents were infatuated with you from the moment you were conceived."

"He's trying too hard," I argued. "I think he's worried that my entire self-worth rests on the assumption that I was not a mistake."

"He wants to protect you," he commented.

"I get that, but what exactly does he think he's protecting me from? Realizing that my parents never set out to have me isn't going to push me over the edge. I wish Lucky would see that I'm a little more adjusted than that," I sighed. "You know, you should talk to him about that."

"What do you want me to say, Lulu? He's my best friend, and I would take a bullet for him. But when it comes to you, he's not rational."

"Well, could you at least find him a distraction or something? Maybe if you introduced him to one of those women you're always out with…"

"Hold on," he scoffed. I could tell from the expression on his face that he, like my brother, thought that I was completely naïve. But the reality was that I had always known that Dante Falconeri was as smooth as they come. He had charisma and charm that made women melt. I wouldn't even have admitted it on my death bed, but I had momentarily fallen under his spell more than once in our friendship.

"What women?"

"It's not my job to remember their names, Dante. That would be your responsibility."

"You think I'm some sort of womanizer, don't you?" he feigned shock.

"No, I never said womanizer. You seem very respectful, and I can't picture you using women. You just have a large quantity of them around you most of the time," I explained. "Look, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. My entire point was to ask you to help Lucky. I wouldn't ask some egotistical jackass to help my brother find a woman to love."

"And if I knew this perfect woman – I'm supposed to step aside and set her up with Lucky instead of keeping her all to myself?"

Dante's tone was getting incredibly playful, which in turn made heat rise into my cheeks. "You aren't ready to settle down."

"How did this conversation become some sort of criticism of my love life?" he defended. "And did I miss the part where you found your prince charming and lived happily ever after? I seem to remember something about two months…"

The slight blush from our flirtation intensified exponentially when he threw that little tidbit into the conversation. I knew he heard our conversation, but I never thought he'd admit to it. Now that it was sitting out there, I figured I only had a few options. I could take the defensive route, but that would probably only let him know how humiliated I was that he overheard the conversation between Maxie and I. I could ignore him completely, or I could own up to it.

"You're right. I definitely don't have a prince charming in my life, and I'm not exactly booked with dates lately. But this conversation is about Lucky, not about me."

_**(Dante's POV)**_

Classic deflection. I did not need to be a detective to realize that I had put Lulu in the difficult position of facing her embarrassment from earlier. It had not been my original intention, but something about her impression that I had a large quantity of women in and out of my bed struck a nerve. Plus, the more I pushed, the more she blushed. I could only see it out of the corner of my eye, but I liked that I could push her buttons.

I considered Lulu a friend. She and Lucky were the closest thing I had to a family in Port Charles, at least, the closest thing I _wanted_ to family. Over the years, I had spent countless nights at the Spencer home watching football games or having a few beers and playing pool. While I rarely hung out with Lulu one-on-one, she was around a lot. It was almost impossible not to notice her.

"Okay, then, answer me this. Does Lucky know that you're dating Anthony Zacchara's son?"

I knew the moment the last word came out of my mouth that my question was out of line and very telling of what I was trying to get at. I had never known Lulu with a boyfriend. Sure, she had been on dates, which made her brother cringe more often than not, but she had never been serious with anybody in the six years that I had known her.

"Johnny and I are not dating," she corrected. Her tone was calmer than I had anticipated. I was almost disappointed that she lost her fire from the previous few moments.

"Sorry, Maxie just made it sound…"

"Johnny and I used to date, back in high school," she cut me off with her clarification. "He's still a friend. But we're not together."

"Oh, my mistake," I spoke softly. "Sorry to get too personal."

"You didn't," she answered simply. I glanced over and saw her pull the hair away from her face, swiftly pulling it into a messy ball on the back of her head. Her natural beauty was really hard to ignore.

"Look," I stumbled on my words, desperate for a distraction from checking her out. "I will try to encourage Lucky to date more. But I've got to be honest with you, even if Lucky finds the woman of his dreams, I don't think that he's going to ease up on protecting you. Even with the stomach flu, the man is bending over backwards to make sure you are going to have a great Christmas."

_**(Lucky's POV)**_

"I'm terrible…" I groaned, rolling off of Maxie and on to my back.

"Sure, it wasn't your best work, but it still got me where I needed to be," she replied with a sly grin. "Give yourself a break. You're not Hercules."

Only Maxie could make criticism of my performance in bed sound like a compliment. I found her honesty refreshing, even attractive most of the time. However, when it came to her views of my living situation, refreshing was not the right word.

"You know I was referring to faking the stomach flu and abandoning my sister on Christmas so that I could spend the holiday in bed with her best friend."

She turned on to her side and ran her fingers up and down my arm. "For the hundredth time, you did not abandon Lulu. She is going to be surrounded by well-meaning but irritating Falconeris for the next two days."

"I know, but maybe that's too much for her. What if being around that huge family just brings back hard memories? I should have gone with to be there for her…"

"Lulu is a big girl," she argued, leaning forward to plant kisses up my arm and on my neck. "Same age as I am. In fact, what you and I are doing here… what we have been doing for the past four months… believe it or not, Lulu does that too."

I felt my stomach turn with the visual. "Maxie!"

"I'm just being honest," she defended, pulling herself on top of me. "Look, I know that this was my idea. And I know that you are always going to have this ridiculous and unhealthy need to protect your sister from anything remotely bad in the world. But you have your own life, Lucky. And right now, you have this gorgeous naked woman in bed with you – a woman who is falling in love with you. Can we just focus on that for the next two days?"

I reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "You're right. I just need your help to keep myself distracted."

"Now _that_ is what I wanted to hear," she smiled before bringing her lips back down to mine.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_**(Dante's POV)**_

"Are you sure you're up for this?" I asked Lulu as we walked up the driveway to my uncle's restaurant. "Because the family we saw last night at mass… that was just a fraction of the Falconeris you are going to meet tonight."

"Is there alcohol here?" she countered with a grin that left me mesmerized. The past few days had been more fun than any family Christmas I could remember. Lulu fit in so well with my family, and she took their craziness in stride. The only difficult aspect of the trip was keeping my attraction to my best friend's sister in check. Her expression at that moment certainly was not helping.

"All the wine you could ever ask for," I answered in a mumble, forcing my gaze away from her lips.

"Then it'll be fine. And even if it's terrible, like miserably terrible… I am coordinating a New Year's Eve wedding for 700 guests in less than a week. So unless there are 700 Falconeris in there, I think I'll survive."

Her cheeks were a rosy red which closely matched the color of her hat. She was absolutely adorable – another reason why I needed to get her inside quickly before I lost the small ounce of will-power I had left.

"So, uh… have you heard from Lucky at all?" I changed the subject and led her to the door.

"Just a text message '_Merry Christmas'_. How many times has he called you to check up on me?"

"I actually haven't heard from him at all. He must be pretty sick. I hope he's staying in bed."

_****  
(Maxie's POV)**_

"When did we last have a meal?" Lucky asked as he came out of the bathroom wearing only a towel. "And the strawberries and chocolate do not count as a meal."

"I don't know about you, but I had an awesome lunch at my dad's house earlier. Another reason you should have joined me…"

"Right," he scoffed, "I could have just said 'Hi, Mac. Merry Christmas, oh, and by the way, I'm sleeping with your daughter _boss_.'"

I rolled my eyes and pulled one of his t-shirts out from his dresser, draping it over my body. The first time we hooked up, we still did not know what exactly was going on between us. However, within weeks, I knew that there was something serious going on between us. I knew Lucky felt the same, but he was adamantly against telling anybody about our relationship. He insisted that he needed more time to figure out how to tell Lulu. Sometimes I wondered if that was really his only concern.

Lucky's past with Elizabeth was practically Port Charles legend. Even though Elizabeth turned out to be a complete bitch, there were still a number of people who believed they should be together. Lucky never talked about Elizabeth, but I had a terrible feeling in my heart that he was secretly hoping that she would come back to him. Yet that did not stop me from falling so deeply in love with him.

"You know, a gorgeous, talented, funny woman like me is a real catch, Spencer," I started, approaching him and running my fingers along his still damp chest. "If such a woman were to go much longer without being seen on the town dating, people will start to talk."

"Oh yeah?" he asked softly.

"Mmhmm," I nodded, placing kisses in the path my fingertips had marked.

"Are you asking me to go public with you, Ms. Jones?"

Before I could answer, a voice yelling up the stairs interrupted.

"Lucky! Lulu!"

Lucky's eyes snapped wide open and he put his hands on my shoulders before he whispered, "Shit, it's Ethan."

"Come on family! I have news!" Ethan continued from downstairs.

"Just stay up here," Lucky instructed, quickly grabbing some clothes and putting them on. "I'll get rid of him."

"Lucky," I started to argue, but he shot me a look that shut it down immediately.

"Please?" he begged. "I promise, we can talk about this later…"

"I'm coming up there!" Ethan announced.

"No!" Lucky yelled back. "I'm on my way down. Just hold on!"

I locked my hands on my hips and stared Lucky down, hoping he would see my chagrin. I was trying to be understanding about his wanting to hide our relationship from Lulu. Hell, I was even a little nervous about what she would say. But Ethan was hardly a conflict of interest where our relationship was concerned, and he was a fabulous liar.

Lucky rushed out of the room, still buttoning his shirt in the process. I waited approximately thirty seconds before tiptoeing into the hall and planting myself at the top of the stairs so that I could hear the brothers' conversation.

"Kristina," Lucky started, "I'm surprised to see you here. Shouldn't you be with your parents?"

"Where's Lulu?" Ethan asked immediately. "We need you both for this."

"She's out of town."

"On Christmas? I know she can't stop working, but even she has her limits."

"No, she's in Bensonhurst with Dante," Lucky explained. I could hear the twinge of guilt in his voice. "And before you say anything, it's not like that. We were both supposed to go, but I had a touch of the flu, so they went on without me."

"Oh, I wish we would have known. We could have brought some soup or something," Kristina remarked. "Why don't we go out and get you some now?"

"Let's just tell him, love," Ethan argued. "He looks fine to me."

"Not without your sister."

Now I was intrigued. There was obviously something big going on, and whatever it was, it was juicy enough to warrant Kristina's hesitation about telling Lucky. I slid down to the next step so that I could hear their conversation more clearly. When my foot fell to the next step, I accidentally kicked a basket of laundry, causing it to topple all the way down the stairs and into the living room.

"Shit!"

_**(Lucky's POV)**_

I was about to start interrogating my brother and his girlfriend when the sound of plastic bouncing down the stairs interrupted me. I had hoped to explain it away as a breeze knocking it over until Maxie added an expletive from the top of the staircase. Kristina looked confused, and Ethan was intrigued.

"Who's that, big brother?" he asked me with a grin. "Is that your 'flu'?"

Before I could answer, Maxie strutted down the stairs, still wearing only my t-shirt. I felt panic rise within my chest, but she looked as calm as ever. There was a very good possibility that she threw that laundry down the stairs on purpose just so that I would have to tell Ethan about our relationship. This was the woman I loved – frustrating and adorable all at the same time.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Maxie Jones," my brother narrated, a look of satisfaction on his face. "The one and only best friend slash business partner of our little sister. Nice work, man. I didn't think you had it in you."

"Ethan, I think we should go," Kristina urged. "We can come back when Lulu gets home."

"We're not going anywhere until my brother explains himself. So spill… is this the reason you didn't go to Bensonhurst for Christmas? And, more importantly, does Lulu know?"

_****  
(Dante's POV)**_

"You ready for this, Dante?"

"I was born ready."

I gave the thumbs up signal to my seven-year-old second cousin, Vinny, from my assigned post behind snow-covered bushes next to the restaurant. My mission was clear. I was to take out as much of the opposition as possible to protect the boys' team. My weapon of choice: snowballs.

As a child, I spent the bulk of this particular family gathering outside with my cousins. We were constantly putting together games of baseball in the snow or building forts. It was a lot more entertaining than listening to my aunts and uncles argue about virtually any topic that was discussed. When I got into high school, I would bring a deck of cards and we would create a side game of poker for candy or whatever we could get our hands on. And in recent years, I spent the entire evening dodging questions about why I wasn't married with children already from my well-meaning relatives. So when I showed up with a beautiful guest, the questions only intensified.

Lulu was taking it all in stride, but I could tell the amount of relatives who were questioning her about our "relationship" was overwhelming her. That was the exact reason why I took Vinny up on his offer to be a part of his boys-versus-girls snowball fight. I felt bad volunteering Lulu to do the same, however, she seemed really excited to get some fresh air.

"There's only one rule," Vinny reminded me. "Do you remember what it is?"

"I do," I nodded, finding the young man's demeanor similar to that of a former commissioner I worked under at the NYPD. "You get to go after Vanessa."

Vinny's insistence on being the person to get his little sister made me wonder what it would have been like to grow up with my siblings. Granted, I always had fun with my cousins, but knowing that I had brothers and a sister who didn't know about me being their older brother was difficult, especially when I lacked the resolve to tell them.

"Dante! Fire!"

I must have gotten lost in my thoughts, because when Vinny yelled at me, he was already running full speed towards Vanessa and another cousin. Figuring that I could let Vinny take on the kids, I moved strategically toward the back of the restaurant in search of Lulu. There were three girls and two boys on this mission, and Vinny told me that it was only fair for me to cover taking down the adult.

I rounded the corner and didn't see any sign of Lulu. I bent down to form a snowball in my hands, and felt a burst of cold, wet show on the back of my head.

"Seriously, Falconeri? You'd think a detective would be better at taking cover," Lulu giggled from about twenty yards away. I stood up and studied her. She was laughing so hard that tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.

"That was really entertaining for you, wasn't it?"

"You have no idea."

I finished forming the snowball in my hands and stepped toward her slowly.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "I got you already, so you're down. You can't retaliate-"

Before she finished her argument, I flung the snowball towards her. What I hadn't anticipated was her ducking to get out of the way, which resulted in the snowball splattering across her face. She shrieked and my heart sank into my stomach.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry!" I apologized, rushing to her. The number one rule of snowball fights was never hitting anybody in the face. My Catholic school teachers were constantly warning us that there could be chunks of ice or rocks in the snow which could take someone's eye out.

"Are you alright? Did anything cut you?" I questioned, running my thumbs across her pink cheeks. Even with the ice water dripping down it, her skin was incredibly soft. My heartbeat was racing, making it difficult for me to choke out any more questions.

"I'm fine…" she answered softly, blinking the moisture away from her eyelashes. I kept telling myself to remove my focus from her eyes, but with my fingers against her skin and my gaze locked on hers, I got swept up in the moment. Before I knew it, I was pressing my lips against hers.

For the first time in my life, I knew with one-hundred percent certainty that what I was doing was wrong, but I didn't care. In the years that I had known Lulu, I had wondered about how this would feel. Even though her lips were icy cold from the snowball, kissing her in reality far surpassed what I had imagined. She parted her lips to allow me more access, which I accepted without hesitation.

It wasn't until I felt a snowball burst against my back that I snapped back to reality. Lulu must have felt the jolt, because she started giggling against my lips and took a step back to survey the situation. Vinny and Vanessa were laughing uncontrollably and pointing at us.

"So disgusting!" Vinny exclaimed, making vomit sounds. "Dude!"

I looked at Lulu, whose cheeks were turning pinker. Granted, she had just taken a snowball to the face, but I was sure that there was a little embarrassment causing that hue.

"I'm going to go clean up," she whispered, and with that, she was on her way back inside, leaving me to wonder what I just started while being taunted mercilessly by two children.

_****  
(Lucky's POV)**_

Maxie had a look of satisfaction on her face that I had only seen a few times before. Forcing me to come clean about our relationship to my brother was the first step in going public, and she had wanted that for awhile now.

"Lulu doesn't know about this," I started, running my hands over my face as if it would wipe away some of the guilt. "It just happened…"

"In August," Maxie corrected, "And a lot since then."

Ethan's grin widened, while his girlfriend's face got a brighter shade of pink. It was obvious that she wanted out of that room as soon as possible. But my brother was like a dog with a bone, so he was not going to give up easily and leave this secret alone. I had reservations about telling him everything. Our relationship was good, but he was also getting closer to Lulu. It was too soon to tell where his allegiance lie.

"We agreed to wait to tell anybody until we knew what this was," I reminded Maxie through gritted teeth.

"We're in love, Lucky, remember," she spouted out. "That's pretty definite."

"Love?" Ethan interrupted. "You're in love with Maxie and you haven't even told Lulu that you're seeing each other? She's going to be so pissed…"

"She's not going to find out!" I clarified quickly. "Not yet. I want to find the right time."

"Right time? Oh my God!" Maxie exclaimed. "You're unbelievable, Lucky, you know that? I would have thought that you could be happy or even relieved to share your happiness with your brother, but instead, you're acting like this is some kind of cover-up, and for what? Just so that you can shelter Lulu from something that she may or may not be upset about?"

"We should go…" Kristina urged Ethan.

"No, stay…" Maxie insisted, sitting on the couch and wringing her hands to calm herself down. "Didn't you have news or something?"

"It can wait," Kristina answered, tugging on my brother's sleeve.

"No, it can't," he replied, widening his eyes against her gaze. "Come on, this room could obviously use a distraction."

"Ethan…"

"We're getting married," he spat out, completely erasing the argument Maxie and I had been having from my mind.

_****  
(Lulu's POV)**_

I studied myself in the mirror, noticing the damage that Dante's snowball had caused my makeup. Granted, the smudging could have also been a product of our kiss, but it was easier not to think about that at the moment. Kissing Dante was a ridiculous thing to do, and allowing myself any time to analyze the feelings it brought out in me would just be plain stupid.

I slipped my coat off and set it on the counter. As I started running my hands through the warm water in an attempt to return some circulation to my fingers, I noticed that snow must have dripped down my neck under my coat, because my white blouse was drenched and making my bra completely visible.

Fortunately, there was a hand dryer on the wall across the room. I peeled the fabric from my body and started for the dryer. But when the doorknob to the bathroom turned and I saw the door opening, I panicked. In retrospect, it was a ladies room, and I could have easily explained away the need to dry my shirt because of the snowball fight I had participated in. It must have been my guilt and conflicting feelings about what happened after the snowball incident that caused me to freak out, because I practically sprinted into a stall and closed the door behind me swiftly.

"I have to say, this might be Angelo's best recipe yet."

I recognized the voice in the room to be Olivia's, making the heat in my cheeks increase. In the short time I had known Dante's mother, I could tell she was the type to read guilt off of your face.

"Don't dodge the issue here, missy."

"Ma, I already told you that I'm not going to force this on Dante. He has to decide if and when he's going to make the first move."

"Have you ever known Falconeri men to take that initiative when the stakes are so high?"

I brought my hand up to my mouth as if the gesture was going to help me stay quiet. Could they have seen us kissing? Was Dante's grandmother trying to arrange some sort of relationship between us?

"I'm not forcing my son into anything."

"He wouldn't need to be forced if you would have been truthful with him from the beginning, Olivia. He should have a relationship with his father."

_His father?_ Dante had always talked about now knowing who his father was, that his mother didn't even know. Granted, I was relieved that their conversation had nothing to do with me. But I was intrigued as to why Dante's father was an issue if his identity was unknown.

"It's not that simple…"

"They've lived in the same town for years now! I'm sure they have crossed paths, and he has other children, right? Doesn't Dante want some kind of relationship with them?"

"He thinks about it, I'm sure. It was his first concern when I told him the truth. But Dante's a cop. He's conflicted on this for many reasons, but that's going to trump it every time."

"I'm sure he can talk to the commissioner and make sure he is excused from any cases where there would be a conflict of interest."

"Ma, that could be every case! Sonny Corinthos is always a suspect in Port Charles, and Dante's met him many times in the PCPD for questioning. He hasn't felt the need to tell Sonny that they're father and son yet, and I can't see him changing his mind anytime soon. Can we just drop it and enjoy Christmas?"

"I'm going to talk to Dante…"

"You will not! He has a friend in town with him, and he's having a good time. Just drop this, okay? Let's go have some dessert."

I heard their heels clicking against the tile flooring, followed by the sound of the door opening and closing again. I leaned against the door of the stall I was in and let out a deep breath that I must have been holding for awhile. After hearing that Sonny Corinthos was Dante's father, kissing my brother's best friend seemed like the simplest part of the evening.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you so much for your awesome reviews! This chapter is a little lengthy, but it's setting up a lot to come. I hope some of your questions get answered! Please continue commenting…_

**Chapter Three**

_**(Dante's POV)**_

"It's New Year's Day. We should be at a bar eating buffalo wings, drinking beer and watching football," Lucky groaned as he packed up a duffle bag on top of his desk. "Instead, I have the distinct pleasure of driving halfway across the state to pick up a prisoner and bring him back here to testify against some other dirt bag tomorrow."

I rolled my eyes at his attitude. He had been in a miserable mood all week without explanation. I realized that he had been spent Christmas sick and alone, which would make anybody feel bad, but I couldn't shake him out of it. Granted, I was not exactly giving it all of my energy due to my own distraction.

My trip to Bensonhurst had been incredible up until the moment that I ruined it by kissing Lulu. When she had gone inside the restaurant to clean up, I had a brief glimpse of hope that she would be alright with what had happened between us – that we could figure out a way to move forward. But when I got a text message from her thirty minutes later explaining that there was an emergency at work and she needed to get back to Port Charles right away, I knew that there was not going to be a simple resolution.

"Are you even listening to me?"

I blinked a few times to bring myself back to reality and nodded. "Sorry, man. I think I need some sleep or something. I don't know where my mind is."

"You and me both," he sighed, zipping his bag and picking it up in his hands. "Look, I need you to do me a favor. Drive by the house later and make sure everything looks alright."

"_Your_ house?" I questioned. "Why? Isn't your sister going to be there?"

"Yeah," he affirmed, leading me to the door. "Just check in with her."

I had texted, called and emailed Lulu more times than I could count since my return to Port Charles. Her lack of response was giving me a pretty clear answer that she was not interested in talking to me. It sucked, but I had to respect her wishes. So stopping by unannounced to check up on her at her brother's request was not topping my list of great ideas.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea…"

"Why not?" Lucky questioned.

_Well, Lucky, I kissed your little sister over Christmas. It was amazing, but now she's not talking to me. _That response definitely was not going to work. By that point, I was sure that Lucky was going to pick up on my discomfort surrounding the topic at hand.

"It's just… look, she probably won't like it that you have me checking up on her. She's a grown woman."

"I don't want you to babysit or anything," he defended. "Just make up an excuse and pop in. She's had a rough week."

My heart sunk when he described Lulu's week as being rough. I felt terrible for making her life any harder than it already was by crossing the line and taking advantage of her in a vulnerable moment. And, to think, I almost thought she had felt something during that kiss.

"All the more reason to leave her alone."

Lucky groaned and pulled out his wallet. He pulled out his driver's license and shoved it in his pocket, then handed me the wallet.

"I forgot this at work. You have to return it to the house for me."

"That's ridiculous," I started.

"What's going on with you?" he questioned. "Did you and Lulu get in a fight or something? Is that why she came back early on her own?"

"No!" I denied vehemently. "Absolutely not! Nothing happened with me and Lulu. She just needed to get some work done, and my mom needed some help around the house, so we came back separately."

"Fine.. great, whatever. Look, I have to get on the road. Just bring the wallet back to my house and check in on Lulu. I owe you one!"

Without allowing me a chance to argue, he turned and walked out of the precinct, leaving me to figure out what I was going to say to Lulu when I saw her.

_**(Lulu's POV)**_

I walked into my house and made it exactly fourteen steps to the couch before collapsing on it out of exhaustion. Calling the past week chaotic was a gigantic understatement, and surprisingly, the massive wedding we had planned for the previous evening was the easiest part.

Maxie had been in an awful mood, making work ten times more difficult than it should have been. When we worked in sync, we split up the events with precision and actually found a way to enjoy ourselves doing it. But when one of us was off, which was usually my dramatic best friend, the workload seemed to double.

On top of work, I came back to Port Charles to the news that Ethan and Kristina were engaged. While I was trying desperately to be happy for my brother, I knew that he was going to have to face Kristina's family with the news. Telling Sonny Corinthos that he intended to marry his twenty-year-old daughter was a moment that Ethan was going to have to prepare for. While Lucky had spent most of the week trying to convince him that it was too soon to get married, I was working hard to remain neutral. Ethan and Kristina were adults making their own decision, and they were going to need support from someone.

I closed my eyes, prepared to let myself drift off to sleep, when my doorbell rang. I remained stationary, hoping that whoever it was would leave. But soon, the doorbell rang again, followed by incessant knocking. I rolled off of the couch and adjusted my hair before dragging myself to the door and opening it to find my brother's bride-to-be on the porch in tears.

"It was awful!" she cried, pushing her way into the house.

"What happened?" I asked, closing the door and following her inside to the couch. "Did you and Ethan get in a fight?"

"No," she sobbed, wiping her tears from her face. "Nothing like that. We invited my entire family to the my dad's restaurant to announce our engagement."

As soon as she said that much, I could picture how the evening played out, but when Ethan was not with Kristina, I needed to ask the most important question. After all, Kristina's father and brother-in-law were both dangerous men. "Is Ethan alright? I mean… is he physically _well_?"

"Dad freaked out, but he wouldn't hurt Ethan. At least not in front of all of us," she explained through her tears. "And my mom went totally insane. She started asking my dad to whisk me off to the island, which is completely ridiculous. I am an adult. I can make this decision without them. I just… just…"

"You want them to be there on your wedding day and be happy for you," I completed her sentence, digging in my purse and handing her a tissue. While I was never a huge romantic, I had dealt with my fair share of emotional brides.

"Exactly!" she agreed. "Ethan thinks we should just elope. Maybe he's right."

"I can understand how that would be easier," I started, getting on my feet. "But before you make any decisions, let me show you something."

I crossed the room to our dining room table, which was full of paperwork and portfolios that I had brought home from work. I started rummaging through everything until I found what Maxie and I referred to as our dream book. It was the first portfolio we had ever created, and we used it most often when a bride came in for her first consultation.

Kristina needed something to be excited about, and what would be more exciting for her than thinking about her dream wedding? I knew that if I gave her a little time to look at the book by herself, she would calm down enough to listen to her heart and make the right decision.

"This is it," I smiled, bringing the large book over to her. "Just take some time to breathe and look at this. I was actually going to jump in the shower before you got here. Is it alright with you if I do that quickly now?"

She was already enthralled with the first few pages of the book, which was very satisfying. "Of course."

"Great," I smiled. "I'll be back down in a little bit."

_**(Dante's POV)**_

I had left work with every intention of ignoring Lucky's request and going straight home. Lulu didn't need me showing up on her doorstep, especially not if she was having a rough week. If she wanted to talk to me, she would have answered the phone when I called or texted earlier in the week. She was avoiding me, and that gave me all of the answers I needed.

It wasn't until I got home and started cleaning my apartment that I reconsidered. I was digging through the box of Christmas gifts that I had brought back with me from Bensonhurst when I came across the necklace that my mother had given Lulu on Christmas morning.

They had never even met before, but my mom's gift brought Lulu to tears. What I had not realized was that my mom had done her research. She found Lulu's parents' wedding announcement online and purchased a necklace for Lulu that was almost identical to the one her mother wore on her wedding day. My mom insisted that she was just trying to find a personal gift, but I knew that she was trying to fill a void in Lulu's heart on Christmas.

When Lulu left early, she had forgotten to grab her gift from under the tree. As nervous as I had been about facing her after our kiss, it was only right that she have the necklace in her possession. So I grabbed Lucky's wallet and the necklace and got into my car, which led me to my current position on her front porch.

I knocked on the door and waited only a moment before it opened. Only, it wasn't Lulu on the other side. Kristina stood staring me in the face.

"Dante… come on in," she greeted, stepping aside to give me some space, "Lucky's not home."

"I know," I replied, entering the house and closing the door behind me. "He left his wallet at work, so I just wanted to drop it off so he had it when he gets back into town tomorrow."

"No problem. Lulu's in the shower upstairs," she explained, taking a seat on the couch and picking up a large book of wedding photos. "She should be down any minute if you want to wait."

"Are you interning with Lulu and Maxie or something?" I wondered out loud.

"No," she answered quickly, then realized why I had been asking. "Oh, this… I'm actually a client. Well, I guess I'm hoping to be a client. They haven't taken me on yet."

It took me a minute to process what Kristina was saying, but when I did, I felt my heart drop. There I was, sitting across from my sister who had no idea we were related. She was telling me that she was getting married, and I was terrified for her.

"You – you're engaged?"

She nodded. "Ethan proposed on Christmas Eve."

"Wow…" I exhaled. I knew that I had no right to tell her what to do. In that moment, I wished that I had come clean about being Sonny's son years ago just so that it would give me the opportunity to be a protective older brother. But I had made my decision, so I would have to stay calm. "Well, congratulations."

"Thanks," she offered me a huge smile, but it was accompanied with tears in her eyes.

"Hey, don't do that," I begged, unsure that I'd be able to watch her cry. "This is all happy news, right?"

"I know," she nodded, wiping her eyes. "It is. It's just… nobody has been really happy about it yet. I barely even know you, and your approval means so much…"

It took me a minute to piece together what she was talking about. Sonny and Alexis were both more than a little overprotective. Knowing my own shock about Kristina's impending nuptials, I could only imagine what kind of reaction she had received from the members of her family that she knew as family.

Before I could respond, I heard footsteps on the stairs. I looked back and said a silent prayer of gratitude that Lulu had interrupted the moment before I said something to Kristina that I couldn't take back.

"Hey Dante," she greeted me casually. The surprise of my sister's engagement had temporarily distracted me from the awkwardness about facing Lulu, but now that she was in the room, it all came back and hit me like a freight train. "What's up?"

"Uh.." I stumbled, trying to remember what my original intention for coming to her house was. "Lucky left his wallet… at work."

Lulu rolled her eyes, but fortunately, Kristina's cell phone rang and provided another distraction.

"It's Ethan," she announced. "I should probably leave."

"Are you sure?" Lulu asked. "We can talk more if you want."

"You've been really helpful. And after looking through this book, I realized that my wedding is going to be the best day of my life, even if my family can't be happy for me. Ethan is going to be my new family."

"That's great," Lulu replied with a smile, which changed the dread in my body back to nervous energy. Even in her sweatpants, she looked gorgeous. I had spent a week wondering why I was stupid enough to kiss her, and there I was, feeling the urge to do it all over again.

"When you're ready, we can start planning. That is, if you're open to letting me help," Lulu offered.

"Absolutely!" Kristina exclaimed, standing up and wrapping her arms around Lulu. "But you're not the wedding planner. You're a bridesmaid."

"Oh, I don't know…"

I could sense Lulu's hesitation about being in the bridal party. She was excellent at her job. She knew how to run the show behind the scenes. Putting on a big gown and walking down the aisle did not strike me as her idea of fun.

"All of our siblings are going to be in the wedding," Kristina insisted. "That's my first demand. We can talk about the rest soon, ok? I'm so excited to talk to Ethan and set a date!"

There was not a chance for anybody to argue. Kristina picked up her things and dashed out the front door, leaving Lulu with a look of confusion on her face. She turned to me and shook her head.

"So Lucky left his wallet at work, huh? Funny…. The last time he left town for a night, Ethan needed to stop by and get a book from Lucky's room. And the time before that… I think that was when one of your officers in uniform had to come by and hand-deliver his time card for a signature."

"Yeah, you'd think a detective wouldn't be so transparent," I offered with a grin. I pulled the necklace out of my pocket and handed it to her. "I was going to leave you alone, but then I got home and saw this."

She dangled it between her fingers and smiled. "Thanks, but you didn't need to return this gift to me after I've spent an entire week avoiding you."

Her honesty surprised me. We had been friends for years, so I knew that she was a pretty open book. But even the most open person in the world would deserve to be a little reserved considering the circumstances.

"Would you sign a confession to that effect?" I joked.

She rolled her eyes and took a seat on the couch, pulling her legs underneath her. I followed suit and found a seat in the armchair across the room. I was afraid sitting too close to her would allow her to see the beads of sweat dripping down my forehead. I had not been this nervous in a really long time. "I feel bad for taking off without talking to you first. So I owe you an apology for that."

"Well your letter was very cordial. _Short_, but polite. My mother appreciated it, although she was a little critical about the lack of explanation as to why you needed to leave earlier than expected, and by yourself. I didn't exactly clue her in about our kiss."

She made a face that was difficult to interpret. It was only because I had known her for several years that I could see her mind working hard to censor what was about to come out of her mouth. "I didn't leave because of the kiss."

"Lulu, we've been friends for a really long time. You don't have to lie to protect my feelings."

"I'm not lying," she continued. "I left because… God, this is not really something I wanted to go into tonight. Do you want to get something to eat? I think I have a frozen pizza in the kitchen…"

"I'm a cop, remember? You can't use distraction to get me out of my line of questioning."

"True," she nodded, "I was in the bathroom freshening up after… well, you know… and I overheard a conversation that I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to hear."

"Now you've got me curious. What was it? Did one of my uncles hit on you or something? Because they've been known to do that. Not with any of my dates, but my cousins'… not that you were my date. I mean, there was that kiss…"

"I know that Sonny Corinthos is your father."

_**(Lulu's POV)**_

I could not believe that I just blurted it out like that. It was a moment that Maxie referred to as "word vomit", and in that situation, I found her terminology appropriate. Admitting to Dante that I knew his deep, dark secret without laying a little groundwork first was insensitive. I should have started by telling him that I would not judge him or look at him any differently, by telling him all of the reasons why we were better people than I parents ever were. But, instead, I spat out my knowledge and let it hang in the air until he finally found an appropriate reaction.

"Who told you?"

"Nobody – I mean, not directly," I explained. "I overheard your grandmother telling Olivia that she should force you to have a relationship with Sonny."

He rubbed his forehead and sighed. It was obvious that his grandmother had shared her opinion with him, as well.

"Dante, I'm not going to say anything to anyone, ok?" I promised. "But I'm curious. Is there anybody else who knows about this?"

"Just my ma and grandma," he answered. "I didn't even know until I moved to Port Charles."

"Olivia never told you?"

"She had always said she didn't know who my father was. But after I told her about transferring to the PCPD, she sat me down and explained that Sonny was her high school boyfriend. She got pregnant, and he got involved in the business. She was never going to tell me the truth, but then she knew I was going to be face-to-face with Sonny at some point. She wanted me to know the truth."

"I'm guessing that Sonny doesn't know?"

Dante shook his head and stared at his hands. I found it off putting that he couldn't look me in the eye. "She never told him she was pregnant."

"And you don't want him to know?"

"I'm a cop, Lulu. I have spent years of my life trying to put criminals behind bars. The last thing I want to do is invite one over for Sunday dinner just because we share DNA."

He was saying all of the right words, but I didn't believe him, at least not entirely. The fact that he was not looking at me as he spoke had to be because he was conflicted.

"I get that. But what about his kids? Michael and Morgan, Kristina… they're your brothers and sister. Don't you want to have that relationship?"

"They have their own lives. They don't need some long-lost brother coming out of the woodwork."

"I don't buy that for a second," I argued, finding myself on the opposite side of the couch where I was within arm's length of him. "You are the guy that convinced Lucky to give Ethan a chance when he showed up, remember?"

"I didn't do much…"

"I wouldn't have Ethan in my life if it weren't for you talking some sense into Lucky," I reaffirmed. "Lucky was so angry at my dad for his affair that he could barely see straight, which was insane because he had been dead for almost a year. He wouldn't listen to me, but he did listen to you. So it's because of you that I get the joy of planning my brother's wedding… to _your sister_."

I reached forward and placed my hand on his. The contact sent shockwaves through my body, but I suppressed the feelings and tried to focus on helping a friend.

"That's nice for you, but that's not happening in my situation," he started, pulling away from my touch and getting up. "I should go."

"No you shouldn't," I argued, standing up and following him towards the door.

"Lulu, don't," he warned. "Don't worry about it, okay? It's really nothing to think about. As far as I'm concerned, I have my mother and a ton of Falconeris as my family. That's all I need. Now, I'm going to get out of here and leave you to your quiet night alone. I'll text your brother and tell him that you're fine."

Before I could argue, he walked out the front door and closed it behind him. I debated going outside to follow him, but decided it was best for me to let him have a little time to himself. Besides, had I followed Dante, who knows how much longer I could have avoided talking about the larger issue – my growing feelings for him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_**Three Months Later**_

_**(Maxie's POV)**_

"I just really wanted to see you tonight," I whined into the phone while cleaning off my desk. "And you promised that we were going to find a reason to sneak away for a couple days before Ethan's wedding."

"I know, babe, but it's Dante's birthday."

I rolled my eyes. I was being denied alone time with my boyfriend because of some ridiculous tradition we had all started years ago that we would spend our birthdays at Jake's. Of course, it did not help my mood that Dante was the reason my romantic getaway was being obliterated. It had been over a week since Lucky and I had snuck an evening alone together, and with Kristina and Ethan's wedding only two weeks away, I knew that our schedules were going to get even more hectic.

Situations like this made me even more frustrated that we were still sneaking around. We went two weeks without speaking after our argument on Christmas, and even though we had reconciled, I was still outspoken about my desire to tell people about us. I couldn't understand what Lucky was so afraid of – and why he didn't realize that Lulu was going to be furious with both of us for keeping our relationship from her for so long.

"You know… there are rooms above Jake's," I mentioned seductively. If I was not going to be able to whisk him away for a mini-vacation, I would at least find an opportunity to get him alone for a few minutes.

"Then let's put one to good use," he replied. "I'm going to run home for a shower quick after my shift, so I'll meet you there in two hours, ok?"

"Are you sure you don't want company for that shower?"

"You do realize I have to work for another hour… you're killing me here."

"Good. You can show me how much later," I grinned. "Love you."

I turned around and noticed that Lulu had walked into our office at some point during my conversation. My heart rate increased a little, but I was much better at lying than Lucky was. She probably didn't hear much of the conversation, but even if she had, I could find an explanation.

"Love you, too. Bye."

"Yeah… uh, bye," I mumbled, hanging up the phone and approaching Lulu. She was wrapped up with something on her computer and barely noticed me. I felt confident she had not paid any attention to my conversation.

"If you're worried about the flowers for Kristina's wedding, don't be. We had a great meeting with Jay today, and he is totally on board with our designs," I started, figuring that I could distract her from any memory of what I had been discussing. "And the dresses will all be delivered tomorrow. I'm going to need you to rally the other bridesmaids and get them to Marta for alterations ASAP."

It was evident that she was not paying any attention to me. She was completely wrapped up in whatever she was working on.

"Earth to Lulu…" I started, moving behind her back and reading her computer screen over her shoulder. She was staring at a seating arrangement for the PCPD Ball, which had become her sole project based upon its scheduling only one week after Kristina and Ethan's nuptials. We had an agreement that I would lead on the wedding if she took the ball. I had done it for my father the year before, and after that experience, we made it a policy that when it came to taking on family members as clients, we would cover for one another.

"Is there something wrong with the ball?" I asked, leaning down and speaking right into her ear to get her attention.

"What?" she questioned, snapping out of her daze. "No… everything is fine with that."

"Then what's with the silent treatment?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just distracted because I got this in the mail today."

She handed me a large manila envelope addressed to her from Greece. I pulled the contents out and read the hand-written note on the top of it.

_Lulu,_

_I understand why you have been so hesitant to speak to me after everything that has happened. But you're my little sister, and I really want you to be a part of my life. _

_Elizabeth and I are expecting a baby in a few weeks. We have already scheduled a baptism, and I would love nothing more than to have you as our baby's godmother. I have made all of the travel arrangements for you. You will find the information here._

_I hope that you can be with us so that you can meet your new niece or nephew._

_Love,_

_Nikolas_

"That bitch is having Nikolas' baby!" I exclaimed, immediately focusing on how this news was going to affect Lucky. He was going to be devastated to learn that his first niece or nephew was going to be a product of Nikolas' affair with his ex.

"I don't know how I'm going to tell Lucky," Lulu vocalized what I had been thinking.

Images of Lucky's pain flashed in my mind. There was no way I was going to let Elizabeth Webber cause him any more harm, let alone jeopardize my relationship before it was even out in the open. "Are you sure you have to tell him?"

She shot me a look that verified how ridiculous my idea had been. "You want me to keep this from him?"

"Well, it's not like you're going to go to Greece for the baptism, right? You could just shred the whole thing and pretend it never got here," I proposed, gathering the documents that had been in the envelope and carrying them towards the shredder.

"Maxie!" she shrieked, jumping out of her chair and pulling the paperwork from me. "That's not going to make this all go away!"

"You can't tell me you're seriously going to use this trip…"

"Of course not," she affirmed, opening the bottom drawer of her desk and shoving the envelope to the back. "But I'm not just going to pretend I never saw this. I love Lucky, and I would do anything to protect his feelings. But wouldn't it be better if he heard this from me than from anybody else? I want to keep this letter as proof for when I talk to him."

I knew that I was being selfish, that Lulu should tell Lucky about everything. Chances were that Lucky would only be more open to being with her publicly if he knew there was no hope left with Elizabeth, but finding out the truth could send him back into the depression that he had just recently gotten over. Convincing Lulu to keep this secret from Lucky for a little while longer would protect Lucky's heart.

"You're probably right," I sighed, taking a seat on Lulu's chair.

"Probably?" she repeated. "What are you getting at?"

"Well, I admire your honesty, but what if telling Lucky about Nikolas and Elizabeth's baby just makes him more reserved? Weren't you just telling me how much you wished he would get out more? He was destroyed when he found out about their affair… he could go right back to that place."

She leaned against the desk and exhaled. "That's true. But if I keep this from Lucky and he finds out, he's going to feel so betrayed."

"I'm not saying that you should keep it from him indefinitely," I clarified, "Just wait to tell him until he finds his own happiness, you know? Once he's moved on."

"I guess I can give it a little time," Lulu agreed.

All I needed was a little more time to convince Lucky that we were perfect together, and that we could go public. She would break the news to him when the time was right, and not a minute before.

"Then we're agreed," I smiled, standing up from the chair. "Let's get out of here. We can go to my place, order some Chinese food and get ready before we head to Jake's."

"Actually, I have dinner plans already."

Now I was intrigued. "Really?"

"Don't do that," she groaned. "Johnny called this morning. He's in town for a few days, so we're going to grab a bite at Kelly's."

I could feel the pout forming on my face. Lulu was going to get out of attending Dante's boring birthday gathering in order to have hot sex with a man who was not even her boyfriend. All I wanted for the evening was to have some alone time with my boyfriend, granted he was a secret boyfriend, but still. It didn't seem fair.

"Well, if you're not coming to Jake's for Detective Boring's birthday, then I'm out too."

Lulu shook her head at me. "I'm not skipping out on Dante's party. I will be there, I promise."

_**(Dante's POV)**_

I glanced at my watch and groaned, signaling to the bartender for another drink. Some birthday this was turning into. After getting called in four hours early to my shift and dealing with a boatload of paperwork, I was looking forward to having a few drinks with friends followed by a quiet night at home. The plan was to meet at Jake's at 9, but I had been sitting by myself for forty-five minutes without any sign of the friends who were supposed to meet me.

I was not incredibly surprised that Lucky was late. He had not exactly been the model friend over the past several months. I had a feeling that a woman was involved, but no evidence up until this point. Besides, if he had finally met somebody, who was I to demand more of his time? It was better for him, and for Lulu for the matter, that he find someone to be with.

Lulu… the thought of her put my stomach in knots. It had been months since we kissed, and we had not spoken about it once – not that I was sure how I would broach the subject. Still, I was unable to suppress any feelings I had for her.

Even so, Lulu took every opportunity she could to push me toward my siblings. I remained insistent that I was happy without the truth about my paternity coming out, but Lulu didn't seem to believe me.

The most irritating part of it was that she was so sneaky. Whenever we were hanging out as a group, we would "run into" Michael or Kristina. It was as if she had rekindled a relationship with her cousin att the exact same time she found out he was my brother. And with Kristina's pending wedding to Ethan, every attempt she made to bring me closer to my sister was under the guise of pre-wedding activity.

So it should not have even surprised me when I turned around on the barstool to see Michael and his girlfriend, Starr, enter the bar. He looked around before approaching me.

"Dante… happy birthday."

"Thanks," I shrugged, reaching forward to shake his hand. "But how did you know it was my birthday?"

I knew what his answer would be before the words escaped his mouth.

"Lulu mentioned that you all come out for birthdays and invited us for a few drinks. Speaking of Lulu… where is she?"

"No idea," I sighed.

_**(Lulu's POV)**_

I pulled up in front of Dante's building and parked my car, formulating my apology in my mind. The night had completely gotten away from me, and by the time I got to Jake's, everybody was gone. I had not planned on spending so much time with Johnny. In fact, my plan was to set up a time with him for the next day when we would be able to talk about our arrangement.

In the months since I had last seen Johnny, a lot had changed, including my feelings for Dante. We had shared only one kiss and not discussed it since, but that encounter alone was enough for me to realize that I wanted more than a casual hookup once every few months with an ex-boyfriend. However, as we were eating dinner, Johnny gave me the impression that he might be interested in more, and I had to be up front with him about my feelings. Needless to say, that conversation was lengthier than anticipated.

I grabbed Dante's birthday gift – a Yankees jersey – out of my backseat before entering his building and riding the elevator up to his apartment. I glanced at the time on my cell phone and realized that he could very well be asleep. I hoped that he'd give me a chance to explain my absence from his party.

I knocked on Dante's door and held my breath, silently praying that I was not waking him up. A surge of regret shot through my stomach. I had already missed his birthday celebration. Showing up on his doorstep uninvited in the middle of the night was a far cry from an apology.

Before I could follow my impulse, the door flew open and we came face to face. He was wearing only an old pair of blue sweatpants, which I noticed immediately as I tore my eyes away from his chest. I looked for signs of interrupted sleep - messy hair, tire eyes - but he seemed wide wake. In fact, upon a secondary look, I realized he was dripping sweat.

"What do you want, Lulu?"

His short greeting gave me an answer to the question of his anger.

"I..." my voice came out cracking. I cleared my throat and continued. "I have your birthday present."

He gestured to the clock on his microwave across the small loft. "It's not my birthday anymore, so you can save it for next year."

I had seen Dante upset before, but he had never directed any real anger towards me. True, he had shown irritation toward me before, but that was different. He was being really cold to me.

"Can I come in?"

He rolled his eyes and stepped aside. Once I was inside and the door was closed, I noticed the punching bag on the other side of the door. _He was probably picturing my face on that punching bag._ The thought made my stomach turn.

"It's a little late for a workout, don't you think?" I commented.

"It's a little late for a lot of things..."

That was definitely meant as a dig, but I couldn't be sure against what exactly. I placed my gaze on his eyes. "I am so sorry that I missed your birthday, Dante."

"Don't worry about it," he scoffed. "It's not like anyone else did."

"Nobody came?" I questioned in shock. Maxie had told me she would meet me there, and Lucky would never bail on his friend like that. I felt even more terrible knowing that he sat in Jake's alone on his birthday.

"I didn't say that," he explained, crossing the room and taking a swig of an open beer on his counter. "At first, it felt like that. But then Michael and his girlfriend showed up."

Michael and Starr…I cursed under my breath and felt my cheeks turn crimson. I had completely forgotten my invitation to them. I thought having Michael there on Dante's birthday would give them more of a chance to bond, but without me there to push their interaction, I was sure it was awkward.

"I'm sorry... I should have mentioned something. Last time I saw Michael, it just sort of made sense to invite him..."

"Of course it did," he groaned. He had already expressed his frustration at my interference with his siblings on many occasions. I wished I would have listened sooner.

"Look, it's late and I have to work in the morning, so let's skip the drawn out apologies. Besides, I wouldn't want to keep you from Johnny for too long."

_Johnny? Where did that come from? _The way his name rolled off Dante's tongue spoke volumes.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I shot back, unable to hide the defensiveness in my voice.

"That is where you were tonight, right? With Johnny?"

"Well, yeah, but... How did you know that?"

He shot me a look that made me feel completely stupid. It left me feeling offended, angry and vulnerable all at once. "Maxie finally showed up when I was leaving. She told me about your date tonight… said it must have gone better than you expected if you were still on it."

His attitude was harsh, but maybe I deserved it. I had been a pretty terrible friend to him. "It wasn't a date... wait, is this about Johnny? Is he the reason you are so pissed off?"

"No, Lulu... I don't really care what you do with Johnny. In fact, I don't really care what you do at all."

His denial was less than convincing. "If it's not about Johnny, can you please explain it to me? Because you aren't exactly being hospitable."

"Oh, my apologies. By all means, Lulu... How can I make _your_ night better?"

I deserved his anger, maybe even a little bit of his contempt. But I was not going to stand there in his apartment and let him treat me like some self-centered brat. I gave myself clear instructions – apologize one more time and walk out the door. Only I was not great at listening to my rational self, so before I moved an inch, I gave him a piece of my mind.

"What do you want from me? I said I'm sorry!"

"You keep saying you're sorry, Lulu, but you're not doing anything to change. Every time I turn around, you are trying to set me up with my siblings, as if I'm just going to decide that it's time to blow my whole life apart and accept Sonny as my father. And I dealt with it! Because you're my _friend, _and in some _twisted_ way, I was okay with it, as long as it made you happy! But tonight was important to me, and you didn't even show up! Instead, I spent the evening in weird silence with a brother who doesn't even know we're related, and you didn't even show up! You couldn't spare a moment of your day to even send me a text message! I don't know… I guess I thought I deserved that much."

"Everything I have done has been for you!" I argued, reliving the difficult conversation I had just experience with Johnny. "And, yes, I should have called. But if you would just let me explain…"

"Save it," he sighed, crossing the room and opening the front door to escort me out. "Goodnight, Lulu."

The fact that he thought he could just dismiss me made my blood boil. I was furious with him for denying me the opportunity to apologize. And, to think, I had come here hoping to build more out of our relationship. But even amidst my anger, I felt the sting of tears edging the surface.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice softening in defeat.

"Stay the hell out of my life!" he erupted, obviously having held that in for longer than was healthy. And I had my answer. There had been a glimmer of hope that we could have been more than friends, but I squashed it. I bit my lower lip to keep my tears at bay and walked out the front door, promising myself that as painful as it might be, I would not look back.


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks for your great reviews! There are some BIG things in this chapter... so I'm excited to hear what you think!_

**Chapter Five**

_**(Dante's POV)**_

The knock at my front door shook me from my daze. I glanced at the clock and realized that I had been staring into space for over an hour. I quickly rid my coffee table of the empty beer bottles and dumped them in the garbage can on my way to opening the door. My mother greeted me with a smile and a lasagna, as usual.

"Ma… what are you doing here?" I questioned, pulling her into a hug.

"Your birthday was three days ago," she answered. "When I called to say happy birthday, you said I could bring you to dinner this weekend to celebrate… ring any bells?"

It was already Saturday. I had been off since my birthday, and somehow, I had completely lost count of the days in between. Somehow was not a fair term for it. I knew exactly why I was in such a cloud, but I didn't want to be. Now, my mother was standing in front of me, no doubt sensing my confusion and taking inventory of the mess that had accumulated in my place.

"Sorry," I sighed, not even bothering to come up with an excuse. "Come on in. I'll grab a shower and we can head to the Metro Court."

"And while you do that, I'll straighten this place up," she added, handing me the lasagna and going to work. She had already cleared the takeout containers off of my counter by the time I had the lasagna in the refrigerator. It was not my mother's job to come and clean my apartment, but I knew better than to try and stop her. Instead, I grabbed a rag and started wiping down the table.

"How was your drive?"

"Fine," she commented, making her way to my desk with a pile of mail. It was then that she picked up a blue gift bag, the same one that Lulu had left the other night. "Since when do you leave birthday gifts unopened?"

I rolled my eyes, cursing myself for not throwing the gift out when I had the chance. As much as I wanted to be rid of the reminder of my fight with Lulu, I couldn't bring myself to open it, let alone get rid of it. Now I just had to determine exactly how much I was going to explain to my mother.

"I'm returning it."

"Returning it? You haven't even opened it…" she remarked, noticing the ribbon holding the handles of the bag together.

"I can't accept it," I explained, "So it doesn't really matter what it is."

She grabbed the card on the outside of the bag and read it, frowning at me. "So what exactly happened between you and Lulu that makes it so difficult for you to accept a gift from her?"

_**(Lulu's POV)**_

"That must be the hundredth time you've checked your phone since we got here," Kristina remarked from the lounge chair next to mine. We were spending the weekend on Sonny's island for her bachelorette party, and I should have been enjoying the beach, the sun and the break from work. Instead, I felt terrible after everything that had happened with Dante, and it was getting worse with every passing moment. "Who's the guy?"

I shook my head and set my phone back down, grabbing the pastel colored drink off the table in its place. "It's nothing…"

"It's definitely something," she smiled, "So tell me… is it Johnny? Ethan said you two were having dinner the other night. Are you going to get back together?"

"No, Johnny and I are just friends," I told her. "But why are we talking about me? Isn't this weekend all about you?"

"She's right, Krissy," Sam piped up from her chair on the other side of Kristina. "For someone who loves to talk about herself, you should be taking advantage of every single second of the bachelorette and wedding experience."

Kristina giggled and took another sip of her drink. "True… I just feel really lucky that I am marrying the man of my dreams, and I want everybody in my life to have that. You're happy with Jason, so Lulu is the next one to find a man."

"Oh my gosh, look at the time," Starr interrupted from the other side of me, pulling her headphones out of her ears. "If we're going to make it to the clubs tonight, we need to get back to the suite and get ready."

I knew that Starr's interruption was for my benefit, and I was grateful for the save. All the talk of my love life made me realize just how much I had screwed everything up. Not only did I feel like I had used Johnny for months, but I had lost an opportunity to explore the pull I was feeling to Dante. I was not sure how I was going to fix any of it.

_**(Maxie's POV)**_

I stared at the egg timer on my desk, willing it to count down the time more quickly. Patience was a virtue that I had never been blessed with, especially considering I had already waited for three days to get a little time to myself.

Lucky and I had every intention of attending Dante's birthday celebration. But after I stopped by his house, we got into another huge argument involving telling Lulu about our relationship. It ended with me storming out of the house, and by the time I made it to Jake's, the celebration had ended. Dante had questioned me on Lucky and Lulu's whereabouts, so I told him that Lulu was with Johnny. I lied and said I hadn't seen Lucky, when in reality, I knew he was sulking at home.

By the time I got home, I was feeling angry and nauseous. I went to bed and woke up feeling even worse, but hadn't had the time to call in sick. Kristina's wedding was right around the corner, and she was anxious to get all of the details finalized before she left for her bachelorette party. Lulu was no help at all. I didn't know what was going on with her lately, but I knew if neither of us snapped out of it, we were going to be put out of business.

My phone vibrated inside my purse, but I had no desire to talk to anybody, especially Lucky. He had been trying to reach me since our fight, but I was not ready to give up on bringing our relationship out in the open just yet. He was going to have to change his mind, or he was going to lose me forever.

The ping from the egg timer reminded me that I was not necessarily on the right track. Depending on the results of the test that was sitting in the next room could change everything. I just had to will myself to get up and face them.

Just as I stood up, the elevator opened and an older man in a suit walked in.

"Can I help you?" I asked, not working too hard to mask my annoyance at his presence. It was after hours on a weekend. There was no reason for him to be there.

"I'm looking for Miss Jones or Miss Spencer," he announced, taking the liberty of removing his jacket and placing it on Lulu's desk chair.

"You're looking at Miss Jones," I answered, extending my hand to greet him. "Now can I help you?"

"That depends," he answered, taking my hand in his and bringing it to his lips to kiss it. "Are you ready to be a very wealthy woman?"

_**(Lucky's POV)**_

"Sorry about the low turnout," I apologized to Ethan as we walked into Jake's for his bachelor party. "I'm not exactly an expert party planner."

The truth was, I had completely forgotten about my responsibility to plan a bachelor party for Ethan. Between work and my most recent fight with Maxie, I had been feeling completely lost. Add to that my guilt over neglecting my best friend's birthday, and I was feeling lower than low. Had it not been for Ethan's text message that morning, there would not be a bachelor party at all. Fortunately, I was able to get in touch with Michael, Patrick and Johnny and convince them to come out at the last minute. Dante wasn't returning my calls, so that was going to have to be good enough. Ethan didn't have a huge social circle to draw from.

"I'd be concerned if you were, man," Ethan grinned. "Don't worry about it. All I want is a nice evening with some beer and cards. I'm sure Kristina is out partying hard enough for the both of us."

"I don't even want to think about that," Michael remarked, handing Ethan a beer. It had taken awhile for Michael to accept Kristina's upcoming wedding, but once he did, he was more willing to give Ethan a chance. "I'm just glad I could convince her to bring Starr with them. At least one person on that island will have a level head."

"Lulu's there, too," I added. "She's not going to let anyone get too crazy."

"Well, instead of spending all of our time thinking about the bachelorette party happening a thousand miles away, how about we sit down and enjoy some poker? I could use to win a little of your money," Patrick remarked as he took a seat at the poker table I got Coleman to bring in at the last minute.

I spent the first few hours of the night keeping to myself, only speaking when someone asked me a question. I wanted to relax and enjoy the party, but all I could think about was Maxie. I had really hurt her feelings, and the fact that she refused to answer my calls made me worry that she was done waiting around for me to bring our relationship out in the open.

I folded a hand and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, quickly typing a text message to her.

_I miss you… please just tell me that you're okay._

"Who is that?" Ethan questioned with a smile. "She had better be gorgeous if you're going to spend time at the poker table to text her."

"None of your business…" I groaned, shoving my phone back into my pocket.

"Oh, come on," Ethan taunted, "It's just us guys here. And we know you have the house to yourself all weekend… none of us would blame you for getting in a little action. We've all done it, right, fellas?"

"Don't look at me," Patrick shrugged. "I'm happily married, so the only action I'm getting is from my wife. And the details are not for any of your ears."

"I'm not going to sit here and talk about Starr in that way, either," Michael affirmed.

"What about you, Johnny? Any fun liaisons lately?" my brother asked his friend. Personally, I had no interest in hearing about Johnny's love life. He had come close to dragging my sister into his life when they were in high school, and I had little to no tolerance for him. The only reason he was there was because he was a friend of Ethan's.

"No," Johnny shook his head, dealing out the next hand.

"Well, that's not true. Weren't you with Lulu the other night?" Michael asked.

My head shot up and I stared Johnny down, just waiting to hear about why he was spending time with my sister again. "Oh really? You were with Lulu?"

"We had dinner," Johnny answered, obviously annoyed with Michael for bringing it up. "That's it."

"It had better by it," I growled, ready to throw Johnny out of there just for thinking about my sister again.

"Okay, okay, end of discussion," Ethan intervened just as my cell phone rang in my pocket. My heart jumped into my throat. I was so anxious to hear Maxie's voice that I practically sprang up from the table to take the call outside. However, once I was there, I realized that it was just a telemarketer. I hung up the phone and tried calling Maxie another time to no avail.

Heading back inside, I stopped at the door for a moment when I overheard the conversation inside.

"Why would you even bring Lulu up in front of Lucky?" Johnny asked. "Are you trying to give him a heart attack?"

"I'm sorry," Michael sighed. "I didn't think he was that over the top."

"So now that he's not here, tell me what's really going on with you and my sister," Ethan added. "Are you her date to the wedding or what?"

"She ended things. I shouldn't have wasted so much time," Johnny admitted. "She has feelings for someone else."

"Who?"

My ears perked up as curiosity got the best of me. I was relieved that Lulu was not involved with Johnny Zacchara, but concerned that she had not shared anything with me about a new man in her life.

"Dante."

_**(Dante's POV)**_

"I just don't get it," my mother commented as she took a bite of her salad. "Why would you tell Lulu about your father if you didn't want her advice?"

I groaned, wanting my mother to focus on any other topic than Lulu. But the more I resisted, the more she pressed on. She even opened the gift that Lulu had left for my birthday – an autographed Yankees jersey – while I was in the shower. Between her constant questions and the emotions I had felt when I saw what she had given me, I was starting to really regret how terribly I had treated Lulu.

"You're the one that told her, Ma," I explained. "She overheard you and Nana talking about it over Christmas."

Her face went pale. "Oh, no… is that why she left?"

"Yeah," I affirmed, choosing not to tell her about our kiss. There had to be a few things my mother could not drag out of me. "She was a little freaked out, to say the least."

"Did you ever think that maybe Lulu's right?" she pressed on, ignoring her own guilt like only an Italian mother could. "Maybe you should have a relationship with your siblings?"

"That's not the point," I argued, pouring myself another glass of wine. I was going to need another bottle if this conversation was not going to end anytime soon.

"Then what is it? Because, to me, it looks like you're just being stubborn."

"Stubborn? Wha – Ma, you have to know this girl to understand it, but she's the stubborn one. She won't stop harping on me about Sonny long enough to realize that I really like her."

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, her face lit up like a kid who just saw Santa. She got up from her seat and came around the table to hug me, kissing my cheek. "Oh, baby, that's so great! You have to get your girl…"

I rolled my eyes, mentally kicking myself for giving her that tidbit. She was never going to let this go.

"Just text her," my mother urged, picking my phone up off the table and handing it to me. "Trust me… she's waiting to hear from you."

"Ma, we're at dinner," I argued. "It can wait."

"No, it can't… don't argue with your mother!" she scolded, pointing to the phone. "Just tell her you're thinking about her."

Knowing that she would never give it up, I looked down at my phone to fulfill her request. It took a few moments to figure out what exactly to type. I knew she was out of town for Kristina's bachelorette party, so I didn't want to send her a message that would distract her too much from her fun. I decided it was best to keep it short and to the point.

_Thanks for the jersey – it is perfect. I'm really sorry about the other night. When you're back in town, can we talk?_

_**(Lulu's POV)**_

The music in the club was blaring, which was not helping my throbbing headache. Granted, it was my own fault for trying to keep up with Kristina's incredible pace while downing any shot that the bartender would pour for us, but even so, the music was not helping. I was so ready to go back to our room and call it a night. Unfortunately, none of my roommates were anywhere to be seen.

I pulled my phone out of my clutch and noticed it flashing, which indicated I had a message. I had been waiting for three days for a message, and had nothing. Of course, now that my mind was clouded because of the alcohol, someone was trying to get in touch with me. I opened the message and realized it wasn't just someone – it was Dante.

I struggled to focus my eyes enough to read the message. He was sorry. He wanted to talk. It was as if everything I wanted to happen was coming true. I needed to respond to him quickly before I lost my nerve.

"Drunk texting is a really bad idea," Starr remarked as she took a seat next to me.

"Who said I was drunk?" I questioned, realizing my voice was a little too loud and gave away my level of intoxication.

"Right," she rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying that I'm definitely feeling the effects of those shots. You work every single weekend, so I'm guessing that going out is not something you're used to. If you can honestly tell me that you're feeling sober, then go ahead and send the text. But if any part of you feels just a little intoxicated, you should wait."

She had a point. If Dante was willing to forgive me, then I needed to make sure I was coherent enough to approach the conversation. I just hated the thought of not replying.

"Are you too drunk to offer a little advice?" I asked Starr, hoping someone could coach me on what to write.

"Depends on the topic," she smiled. "Are we texting a guy? Is it Dante?"

"Why would you say that?"

"We're sharing a room, and you were talking about him in your sleep last night," she answered with a giggle.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, you don't even want to know the rest. I was blushing just listening to it."

I felt my cheeks burning. "Sorry…"

"Don't apologize. For what it's worth, I've been waiting for the two of you to hook up for months now. Every time we hang out, I wonder why you're not together."

"It's complicated," I whined, thinking about all of the obstacles in our way. "I've wanted to be more to Dante than Lucky's little sister for a long time now, but I didn't think he saw me that way. Then there was that kiss on Christmas…"

"Hold up, you kissed him? How was it?"

"Amazing," I answered wistfully, remembering the chemistry we had from the beginning. "But I don't know if he feels the same way about it. We haven't talked about it because everything else is in the way. Lucky would absolutely freak if I started dating Dante, because they've been friends for so long. Hell, Dante and I have been friends for years. I don't know if what I'm feeling between us is worth risking the friendship. And what if it's awkward? The kiss was good, but what if sex is weird? And then when you add in his complete refusal to accept Sonny as his father, we're doom-"

"What?" Starr interrupted. "What did you just say?"

"About the sex?" I questioned, realizing that I was ranting more quickly than I was listening.

"About Sonny," she corrected. "Did you just say that Sonny is Dante's father?"

_**(Maxie's POV)**_

"Let me get this straight… you want to buy my company out from under me just so that your wife has a project when you relocate to Port Charles?" I asked, not even attempting to mask my outrage at the proposition being presented to me.

"You will be paid handsomely, I assure you," Mr. LeMontagne nodded.

"My partner and I have poured our heart and soul into this business. We're not selling," I argued, "So I'm sorry that you've wasted your time."

He pulled a file folder from his briefcase and handed it to me.

"My starting offer is here. I think you'll find it well worth your time to review it. Just think, Miss Jones. You could start a brand new venture."

"Why can't your wife start the new venture?" I questioned.

"She needs a built in client base, and you've cornered the market. Don't you want to try something outside of event planning? Maybe a business that would have more stable hours? I'm sure a lovely young woman like yourself has aspirations of a personal nature that would benefit from free nights and weekends. Maybe you would even want to start a family?"

I choked back my nausea at the thought. It was as if he was reading my mind and finding every fear in me to exploit. "I'll read the offer, but don't get your hopes up. My partner is not likely to accept, either."

"I'm sure you can be persuasive," he flashed a grin at me and stood up. "My contact information is in the file. I'll give you a week to consider, and I'll be in touch."

He walked toward the elevator and pressed the button, turning to me as the doors open.

"Oh, and Miss Jones? The offer is negotiable. I'll pay anything you request."

He walked into the empty elevator and the doors closed behind him, leaving me shocked. I knew that our company was doing well, but I never imagined anybody wanting to buy it. And his timing was impeccable. It was as if Mr. LeMontagne knew exactly what I had been doing before he arrived.

I decided it was time to face my fate. I went into the next room and closed my eyes, saying a silent prayer that this whole thing was a false alarm.

"No turning back now," I whispered, picking up the pregnancy test and staring at the plus sign. There it was – all the evidence I needed. My relationship was ready to implode, and I was pregnant.


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you SOOOO much for the wonderful reviews! I am so glad you like this story as much as I do! Please keep them coming. They are inspiring me to keep up the writing more than you know!_

**Chapter Six**

_**(Lucky's POV)**_

"Maxie… you have to talk to me sometime," I groaned into the phone as I straightened my tie in the mirror. "I'm the best man, so we're bound to run into each other at the church tonight… I can't wait to see you… I just – I miss you so much."

It had been ten days since our fight, and Maxie had not answered a single correspondence I sent to her. I tried showing up at her house and her office, but she had been successfully avoiding me all week. I knew that she was angry, but I thought we would make up just like we had every other time we fought. We'd made it through the same argument many times before, but this was obviously different. I was scared that I wasn't going to get another chance. By wanting to keep everyone in the dark about our relationship, I may have lost Maxie.

"I'm so sorry, and I love you. I guess I just wanted you to know that before I see you at the rehearsal."

I hung up the phone and shoved it into my pocket. I glanced at the flask on my dresser, which I had filled that morning. Ethan's wedding was not going to be easy for a lot of reasons. First and foremost, seeing Maxie and knowing that she was not going to forgive me was going to be torture. Then there was the fact that I was going to be forced to socialize with my father's former mistress all weekend. I loved my brother, but it was still difficult to face his mother without hating my father for betraying my mother like he did.

"Lucky, I'm taking off! I'll see you at the church – don't be late! We need this rehearsal to go smoothly!" Lulu called up the stairs.

Lulu was the other reason I really needed to drink. The thought of her sneaking around with Dante made my stomach turn. I had every intention of confronting my so-called best friend about what I had overheard Johnny telling the guys, but Mac had sent him out of town on assignment. Lulu had barely been home long enough to shower, let alone sleep. Even if she had been there more, I don't know how I would have approached the conversation with her without starting a huge fight. The last thing I needed was another woman in my life hating me.

I picked up the flask and shoved it in my breast pocket, knowing that I would need it to get through the evening.

_**(Maxie's POV)**_

The cruelest thing about pregnancy was that they called it "morning" sickness. In my case, it was more like constant sickness. I was in the midst of setting up for Kristina's rehearsal when it hit me like a ton of bricks, leaving me sprawled out across the floor of the ladies room in the small church. I had been less than productive all week, and if nothing changed, I was going to wind up throwing up all over Kristina's designer gown.

The door to the ladies room swung open and Lulu walked in, frowning at the sight of me. She had been covering for me all week, accepting my explanation that I was fighting a nasty case of the flu. Even though I was good at twisting scenarios to meet my needs, I knew that she was suspicious.

"You should have stayed home," she began her lecture. "You're not going to do anybody any good from the floor of the ladies room."

"I was feeling fine when I left my apartment," I defended, pulling myself up so that I was sitting against the wall. "Then it just hit me."

She pulled her phone from her clutch and started dialing. "I'm going to call Robin…"

"No!" I argued. "I don't need a doctor. I'm not sick…"

She shot me a confused look. "What do you mean? Of course you're sick… unless…"

"No, you're right, I'm sick," I covered. "It's just not serious. Maybe I'm just dehydrated. Please don't bring Robin into this."

"I was just calling Robin to come pick you up," she responded with suspicion. "You shouldn't be driving, and I have several dozen guests showing up here in ten minutes, so I can't bring you home. Are you sure that there's nothing more going on here?"

"What? No, don't be ridiculous," I exhaled.

She shot me a look that I recognized, and it filled me with dread. The worst part of having a best friend was that it was virtually impossible to hide something so big from her. I had no idea why, but Lulu cared about me. There she was, sitting with me on the floor of the ladies room ready to drop everything and help me. And what was I doing? Lying to her face, sleeping with her brother and hiding a huge secret from her.

"Are you going to tell me, or are you going to make me say it?" she questioned.

I wanted to tell her everything – how I was in love with her brother and having his baby. But it wasn't right to tell her before I had the chance to break the news to Lucky. So, instead of spilling my guts, I stared down at my hands and focused on keeping my stomach calm.

"Fine, Maxie, you win…" she sighed. "You're pregnant."

It wasn't surprising that she knew. But as the words came out of her mouth, I felt a shocking sense of relief. I finally had someone to confide in – well, at least the parts that I could share. I nodded to confirm her statement and grabbed her hand, needing to feel her support.

"How far along are you?"

"I don't know exactly. I haven't gone to see a doctor yet."

"Maxie!" she scolded. "You have to see a doctor. This is a big deal… what about the father? What does he think?"

_The father._ Of course she had to go there.

"He doesn't know yet. I haven't figured out how to tell him."

"Who is he?"

I bit my lower lip. Up until that point, I had not had to lie to Lulu's face… at least not often. Mine were lies of omission, which barely comforted me. But this lie… this was huge. It could rip apart our friendship. However, telling the truth could kill my relationship with Lucky.

"I'd rather not say…" I murmured. "At least not yet. I should tell him first."

"Fair enough," she sighed, squeezing my hand before getting up and helping me to do the same. "Just promise me you'll make an appointment to see an OB as soon as possible. You have to take care of yourself, not to mention my little niece or nephew."

"Niece or nephew? Wha-why would you say that?"I practically choked out.

"Well, I know we're not related, but I assumed that being your best friend gave me the right to be Aunt Lulu to your kid," she explained, pulling me into a hug. "Seriously, Maxie, I am going to be here for you every step of the way. So even if this mystery man turns out to be a real asshole, you'll have someone to help you."

Tears stung my eyes as I hugged my best friend. She was being so supportive. I just hoped she would still feel the same after she learned the truth.

_**(Dante's POV)**_

I was finally home after what felt like the worst trip in history. Not only did I get nowhere with the case I was working on, but I was out $500 for a plane ticket home after my squad car broke down on the way home. Because it was a last minute booking, I got stuck in a seat on the plane in front of a screaming infant, his 3-year-old sister and their mother, who obviously subscribed to a rather loose disciplinary policy.

After taking a shower, I walked into my kitchen and pulled a beer out of the refrigerator. My plans for the evening consisted of just that – beer, takeout and lounging on my couch. They weren't incredibly exciting for a Friday night, but I had never planned on spending the entire week on assignment in the middle of Arkansas.

I took a seat on the couch and caught a glimpse of the Yankees jersey that Lulu had given me across the room. She had been on my mind constantly since I left town. Unfortunately, Mac sent me away before she returned to Port Charles, so the only communication we had was through a few random text messages. It was hard to know exactly what to expect with only a few short sentences.

I picked my phone up off the table and dialed her number, but was unable to press send before I heard Kristina's frantic voice outside my door, accompanied by incessant knocking.

"Dante! Are you in there? I really need your help. I'm having a major crisis!"

Without a second thought, I raced to the door and opened it, preparing myself for a terrifying sight in front of me. Instead, I found Kristina looking beautifully dressed and ready for a night out on the town. She threw her arms around me and sighed. "Thank God you're here!"

"What's wrong?" I questioned, pulling back from her and looking her up and down for any sign of injury.

"I was already running late to my rehearsal, and I get this phone call from Milo saying that my dad has him on security detail on the docks for the next three days, so now I'm down an usher for the wedding. I swear, my dad is just doing this to mess with me! He wants to ruin my wedding, but it's not going to happen!"

"Okay, just breathe," I coached, masking my desire to laugh at what constituted a major crisis in her mind. I knew as little about weddings as I did about physics, but the loss of one usher seemed far from catastrophic. "I'm sure this can be fixed."

Her lips turned rolled into a smirk. "So you'll do it!? Oh, Dante, thank you so much! You have no idea what this means to m-"

"Wait, you want _me_ to be a part of your wedding?" I had already sent in a response card stating that I wouldn't be able to make the wedding. I put a gift in the mail for Kristina and Ethan and had planned to go to the station the next day to catch up on paperwork. I liked Kristina and Ethan, but the wedding was going to be full of family members who had no idea I existed. Beyond that, Lulu would be there. I had not planned to share her attention with work and 300 guests for the conversation we needed to have.

"Well, you're one of the first people who accepted this engagement," she explained, "And I think you'll be able to fit into the tux we got for Milo. Please, please, please, please, _please?_"

The way she had me wrapped around her little finger made me wonder if deep down she knew that I was her brother. Even though I had a million reasons running through my mind why I should not give in, I shook my head and sighed.

"Sure, just give me a minute to change."

_**(Lulu's POV)**_

I put my car in park and stared at the apartment building in front of me. This was the last place I planned to wind up after surviving Ethan and Kristina's rehearsal dinner. It had been one of the longest days of my life, leaving me a heap of exhaustion and anxiety.

Hearing my best friend confirm her pregnancy would have been the most stressful part of my day any other time, but when Kristina showed up at the rehearsal and introduced Dante as her newest usher, my nerves went on overdrive. I knew that he was ready to talk about whatever we were to one another, and had I not been so stupid at Kristina's bachelorette party, I would have been excited for the conversation. Instead, I was making myself nauseous with worry that I had blown apart our relationship before it even started.

Blurting out that Dante was Sonny's son in front of Michael's girlfriend was beyond stupid. Even though I convinced Starr to give me a little time before telling Michael everything, I knew she was struggling to keep up her end of the bargain. She looked like she wanted to crawl out of her skin when Dante and Michael were socializing at dinner.

Even though every muscle in my body ached, I knew that this was going to be my last chance to make things right with Dante before everything blew up in my face. I had to tell him about my slip-up with Starr and pray that he would still speak to me. I choked back my fear and knocked on his front door. Within seconds, he appeared in front of me with a smile on his face that melted away all of my apprehension.

"Thanks for coming," he started, ushering me into his living room. "I know you're really busy, especially with Maxie sick. Is she going to make it to the wedding tomorrow?"

"God willing," I sighed, pacing behind his couch. My stomach surged, telling me that if I didn't say what needed to be said in the next few seconds, I was going to lose it completely. "Can we just skip the small talk?"

"Uh, sure," he nodded slowly, moving into the room and taking a seat on the couch. "Do we have time for you to sit down?"

"Sorry," I shook my head and joined him, "That came out wrong. I just – we have a lot to talk about, and I feel like if I don't get it out right now, I'm going to lose my nerve."

"I couldn't agree with you more."

Before I could get a word out, I felt his lips crash against mine. Emotion overtook reasoning, and instead of cutting off the kiss to discuss what it meant, I went all in. I parted my lips and allowed him full access, letting his movements soothe my anxiety.

Kissing Dante was unlike anything I had ever experienced. There was so much passion, so much intimacy. So when he pulled away, I was left feeling exposed. My wits slowly came back to me, and I knew exactly what I was going to have to do.

"Sorry," he whispered, running his fingertips along my cheek. "I just had to see if it was still there."

"What?" I asked, barely able to speak.

"The spark that happens when I kiss you… the one that has left me breathless for the past three months."

He was saying all of the right things, but the guilt I was feeling caused my heart rate to increase with every sweet thing that came out of his mouth. I would have given anything to take back that drunken night on Sonny's island.

"I have to tell you something," I started.

"No, you don't owe me any explanation," he shook his head. "I treated you terribly on my birthday, and you didn't deserve any of that. I was jealous of Johnny, even though I had no right to be. After that kiss on Christmas, I was too much of a coward to talk about my feelings. So I can't really blame you for having a love life. I guess I thought we could go on just being friends. But every time we have been in the same room, it's all I can do to keep myself from kissing you again. Even when you're being stubborn about my family… I know it's complicated for so many reasons, but I want to try and figure out what this is between us. What I need to know is if you want that, too."

I kept my gaze on my fingers, which he had intertwined with his own. I knew that the moment I looked into his dark eyes, I would be a goner.

"More than anything," I whispered. Before I could continue, he pulled my body against his and kissed me again. I melted against him, losing my will to tell him everything with every passing second. Several minutes passed before he broke off the kiss, leaving my lips swollen and my breathing ragged.

"Let's just make this a fresh start," Dante proposed. "We can take our time and decide together when and how we are going to tell Lucky about us. But what's done is done, and we can both agree that we haven't handled this the right way. How does a clean slate sound to you?"

I finally looked him in the eye, praying that I could somehow forget telling Michael's girlfriend that Dante was a Corinthos. If we were truly starting with a clean slate, then it could be that easy. As long as I figured out a way to keep Starr from telling Michael, I could explore a relationship with Dante. Maybe it was all for the best.

"It sounds perfect," I smiled, leaning in to rekindle our kiss and start forgetting about everything else.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

_First of all, I want to say thank you so much for your incredible support of this story. I have been so pleasantly surprised by how much you have embraced it. I know that I take FOREVER to update. I'm trying to be better. Your reviews and comments are so helpful in motivating me! Please continue to let me know what you think…_

_FYI for this chapter – Lucky is not a recovering addict. However, I'm going to weave Luke's addiction into the history. You'll catch on __._

_**(Lulu's POV)**_

"Earth to Lulu..."

I looked up from the bouquet of roses in my hands to meet Maxie's stare. Unlike our last encounter, the color in her face was back and she seemed to be stable on her feet. I breathed a sigh of relief, because I needed my partner on her game to get through the day in front of me.

"It's a good thing that Robin gave me those anti-nausea pills to be here, because apparently my business partner is going to spend the entire day in some sort of creepy staring contest with the bridal bouquet. What's going on?"

"My brother is getting married," I covered, adjusting the ribbon around Kristina's bouquet, which I had been asked to bring to her before I got lost in the memory of kissing Dante. "I'm just savoring the moment."

"Bull," Maxie argued, pulling the bouquet from my hands. "You don't have a romantic bone in your body when it comes to weddings. In fact, I know for a fact that the looming trip you're going to have to take down the aisle in that bridesmaid dress that you hate wearing is making your skin crawl. So what gives?"

"Nothing…" I stalled, unsure of whether or not to tell Maxie about Dante. I wanted to confide in my best friend about my feelings for him, but not minutes before we were set to greet hundreds of wedding guests. Fortunately, Lucky walked into the sanctuary and cleared his throat before Maxie's interrogation could begin.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Just working," I answered.

"All night?" he continued his line of questioning.

"No, just since 5 a.m.," I answered.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah," I remarked with a frown. "Why?"

"I noticed that you never made it home last night, Lulu."

I swallowed hard. Although what happened between Dante and me the previous night never went beyond kissing, I did fall asleep on his couch and didn't wake up until sunrise. I snuck out while he was still asleep, but decided against going home, opting to spend the night in my office instead. I had hoped Lucky wouldn't notice, but my luck was apparently running out.

"I went to check on Maxie after the rehearsal dinner, and I just spent the night at her place," I fibbed, looking to my friend for her affirmation.

"Right, slumber party with the flu-ridden wedding planner," she sighed, barely looking at either of us. "I have to go check on the bride."

She practically flew out of the room, which was not abnormal for a workday at a wedding. However, it was strange to see Lucky's reaction to her departure. The expression on his face was suspicious, but his eyes showed only remorse.

"You know, I should really go make sure Ethan doesn't forget to wear those cufflinks Kristina gave him," I remarked, taking a step to follow Maxie. I didn't get very far before he grabbed my hand.

"Is she okay?" he asked softly.

"She's fine," I countered with uncertainty. He seemed so upset that I had not made it home the previous night, but that anger quickly faded to concern when Maxie left. "You're the one I'm worried about. What's going on, Lucky?"

_**(Lucky's POV)**_

I desperately wanted to be able to open up to my sister. She would know exactly what to do to heal my relationship. But I knew she was lying to me about her whereabouts the night before, and that felt like a betrayal. Why should I have gone out on a limb to clue her into my life when she was clearly shutting me out of hers?

"It's nothing," I covered. "Don't you need to get Ethan ready to go? Something about cufflinks…"

She nodded and left the room, allowing me a moment of solitude. I wasted no time in pulling my flask out of my breast pocket to relieve my stress. Between Lulu and Dante screwing around behind my back, Maxie's refusal to talk to me and my brother's nuptials looming, I felt like everything was spiraling out of control.

"A little early in the day, don't you think?"

I rolled my eyes and turned to face another person who was doing absolutely nothing to improve my mood. "I don't see how that's any of your business, Johnny. In fact, why don't you do us all a favor at leave?"

"As much as I'd like to, your brother enlisted me to serve as an usher. Although, if you keep drinking like that, I might need to step in as the best man," he remarked.

"I'm an adult, and it's a celebration," I countered. "Mind your own business."

"With your family history, I would think you'd be a little more careful around alcohol."

"Watch it…" I growled a warning his way.

"Look, I'm not trying to be an asshole. Really… but I was with Lulu when your dad did his first stint in rehab. I know what it did to her. I won't stand by and watch her go through that again."

That was enough to put me over the edge. I did not need to be reminded about my father's drinking habit and how it affected my family. I lived through it. I was the one that first confronted him about his problem. I was the person he used as an emotional punching bag while he deflected his guilt about it. And I was the one who held my mother's hand while we waited to find out whether or not he would survive after he wrapped his car around a tree. Every part of it was burned into my memory.

Even after his time in rehab, we never knew whether or not he was going to start drinking again. To that day, I was still not convinced that he had been sober when he and my mother were killed in that car accident. Regardless, I did not need the lowlife that used to date my sister reminding me about my family history of addiction.

I grabbed Johnny by his jacket and shoved him against the wall.

"Don't try to lecture me about right and wrong, and don't you _dare_ lecture me about what's best for my sister!"

Before Johnny could respond, I felt someone grab me by the shoulders and pull me away from him.

"He's not worth it, Lucky," Dante instructed. "Mac will have your badge for this."

"I don't give a damn!" I argued as I pushed myself out of Dante's grip. In the midst of our struggle, my flask fell out of my pocket and landed on my partner's foot. I must have been feeling enough of a buzz to impair my coordination, because he was able to kneel down and grab it before I could get there.

"Why don't I hold onto this for a bit…" he remarked, shoving it into his chest pocket.

"I don't need your judgment," I mumbled, shoving away from him. My so-called best friend was another person that I was ready to hit if he got in my way. But when I looked past him, I saw a small crowd gathering in the hallway. As mad as I was, I couldn't ruin Ethan's wedding. So instead of getting into it with my sister's former or current lover, I straightened out my clothing and walked out of the room.

_****  
(Maxie's POV)**_

We had made it through a Corinthos wedding ceremony without gunfire or a police raid. It was definitely a relief considering some of the scenarios I had dreamed up in my head. Granted, nothing was ever perfect. There were some tense moments throughout Ethan and Kristina's nuptials.

Sonny cornered Kristina before walking her down the aisle with one last ditch effort to get her to agree to make a run for it. She refused, practically screaming at him in the process. Fortunately, the pianist that I hired was exceptional and chose that moment to play a rather loud number.

There was also something going on with Michael's girlfriend. Just before he was supposed to escort Lulu down the aisle, she snuck to the back of the church and pulled Lulu aside for a one-on-one pow-wow. The girl obviously had some jealousy issues, which is insane, because Lulu and Michael are cousins. Either way, Lulu settled her down in hushed tones before taking her place for the processional. She made it down the aisle, but she looked really pale doing it.

Then there was the drama of my own love life. While I remained stationed at the back of the sanctuary for the duration of the ceremony, I could feel Lucky staring a hole through me. He was onto me. Even if he didn't know I was pregnant, he knew something was wrong. It was a lot easier to avoid him during the formal ceremony. But the reception was going to be a whole different story.

I didn't even know if avoiding him was what I wanted to do anymore. Yes, I was really angry with him. But the reality of the pregnancy was hitting me. Although I had great support from Robin and Lulu, I really wanted to have Lucky in my corner, too. I was sick of loving him in secret, but if my only alternative was having this baby alone, I was not willing to take it. I knew that I was not capable of raising a child by myself – not emotionally, physically or financially.

"Ms. Jones…"

"The reception isn't starting for another few minutes. If you could please wait outside with everybody else, that would be great," I started, turning my attention to the centerpieces in front of me without turning to look at the visitor.

"I am not a wedding guest. I was hoping we could talk business."

I did not have time for any distractions since Lulu was busy getting her picture taken with the rest of the bridal party. I spun on my heels and practically smacked right into Mr. LeMontagne.

"Oh, it's you," I exhaled. "Can we do this some other time?"

"I've given you ample time to consider my offer," he replied.

"I know, and I'm really sorry," I continued rushing around the room to make sure all of the last minute details were taken care of, "I have not even had the time to talk to my partner about this…"

"Right, the partner," he sighed. "Funny, because I looked into it a little more, and it seems that you owe majority share of your company. I believe it's a 60-40 arrangement. If Miss Spencer had footed more of the startup costs, she would get more of a vote, don't you think? As far as I see it, this is your decision to make."

"How do you know that?" I questioned. Lulu and I were the only ones who knew that we did not finance the company equally in the beginning. She was stuck paying off some college loans, so we agreed that I could put in a little extra money and we would work it out later.

"It's a matter of public record," he answered. "Listen, you are obviously very busy, which I expected. I brought another copy of the papers. I even left the price blank. Put in whatever amount you would like. I'll be happy to get out of your hair as soon as you sign."

"Mr. LeMontagne," I groaned, ripping the papers from his hands. "This is not a good time."

"I don't take no for an answer, Ms. Jones," he reiterated, this time with more force. "And the way I see it, you are not in a position to turn down a _substantial_ payout. Babies do not pay for themselves, and it is incredibly difficult for a single mother to raise them without going into significant debt."

"That sure as hell is not public record," I mumbled, shocked that he knew about my pregnancy.

"I have my ways of finding information," he replied arrogantly. "I also know that your bank account is practically hemorrhaging right now, what with the substantial cost of running a business and trying to pay off the massive debt that you incurred to start it up."

"Do you know how expensive day care is? Not to mention the medical bills, and with your heart condition, your pregnancy is not going to be without risk. Besides, you should not be working these ridiculous hours. It puts you and your unborn child at risk. You can take the enormous amount of money you receive from the sale and start a new company with Miss Spencer – one that will give you more flexibility. You are not in any position to turn this offer down."

His words were reverberating in my head. They described every fear I had been having since I found out I was going to be a mother. And while I hoped that I would not have to be a single parent, I had no assurance that Lucky would be interested in raising our child together. It would require him to bring our relationship out in the open. Even if he got over the fear of what Lulu would think, part of me worried that he had a more substantial reason for wanting to keep our secret. What if he was really ashamed of me? What the secret is what made him want me?

The offer in front of me was something out of a dream. And Mr. LeMontagne, while forceful, was correct. Lulu and I could start a new business venture. We could have a life again. And, let's face it, Lulu was not a huge fan of weddings. We could find something easier, something we both wanted to do.

"Okay," I exhaled, looking down at the papers in front of me. "Do you have a pen?"


	8. Chapter 8

_Thanks for your AMAZING reviews. I am so grateful for all of your kind words. Warning on this chapter – one secret is coming out __. After this point, it's all just going to keep on coming._

**Chapter Eight**

_**(Dante's POV)**_

I was finally off the clock. After the wedding ceremony had ended, there were hundreds of photos to be taken at what felt like dozens of locations. While I was not what most would consider shy, I did find it pretty uncomfortable to pose for photos in a large group of individuals that included the siblings that didn't know me as their brother and the woman who I was seeing, or rather hoped to be seeing soon.

The previous night had been incredible. I was so excited to have finally confessed my feelings to Lulu and know that she reciprocated. But before we could act on them, at least more than we had the night before, I needed to talk to Lucky. We had been through a lot together, and the last thing I wanted was for him to be as suspicious of me as he was every other man who crossed Lulu's path.

As it stood, I realized there was a good chance he sensed my feelings for Lulu. I had forgiven him for ditching me on my birthday. He and I discussed it over a beer a few nights back. But something was definitely going on with him.

Lucky had never been a fan of Johnny Zacchara, but physically going after him did not fall within his normal behavior. On top of that, he was never one to drink early in the day. He resented his father's alcoholism and worked very hard to keep his own consumption of alcohol to a minimum. So when I found him half drunk on the morning of his brother's wedding with his hands about ready to throttle Johnny, I knew that my suspicions were valid.

I tried to corner him while we were standing around for pictures, but he simply murmured something about me being the last person he needed to talk to and walked away. Once the limo made it to the reception hall, he headed straight for the bar. Not wanting to instigate a fight with him in the middle of his brother and sister-in-law's guests, I decided to keep an eye on him from afar.

However, as much as my eye should have been on Lucky, I had a really difficult time taking them off of Lulu. She looked incredible in the short blue bridesmaid dress that Kristina had picked. Her hair was curled and swept to the side of her face, and it took every ounce of self control that I had to keep myself from nuzzling against the exposed skin on her neck.

I was able to catch her gaze a few times throughout the day, but we had not spoken since the night before. I realized that she was incredibly busy, and it was probably a good thing we were unable to get too close before I had the chance to talk to Lucky. Unfortunately, it looked like that conversation was not going to happen anytime soon.

I accepted a glass of champagne from a waiter and nodded as Michael approached me. He extended his hand to me, and I reached forward to accept his handshake.

"Thanks, again, for pinch hitting as a part of the wedding party," he said. "If I know my sister, she probably didn't give you much of an option."

"Let's just say you can definitely tell she is the product of Sonny and Alexis."

He laughed. "You can say that again. Either way, I know she is really appreciative. And even if I wasn't thrilled about this wedding, I just want Krissy to be happy."

"I know exactly what you mean," I nodded, turning my attention to Kristina and Ethan as they shared their first dance. She was glowing with happiness, and it made my lips curl into a smile.

"But I thought you were an only child…"

The confusion in his voice reminded me exactly why it was an awful idea for me to be at that wedding. The more I spent time with Michael, Kristina and Morgan, the more I reconsidered keeping my secret. I just wished there was a way to have a relationship with my brothers and sister without having to claim Sonny Corinthos as my father.

"Well, I guess I don't know _exactly_," I covered. "I just mean that I have family, too. I mean my mom raised me all on her own. She's incredible – and I would like nothing more than to know that she is happy."

"If she's anything like my mother, I'm sure she reciprocates the feeling. Sometimes a little too much," he laughed, reassuring me that my slip up did not register with him. "If she calls to invite Starr to lunch one more time in an effort to interrogate her, I'm going to have to take out a restraining order."

"I think my ma would probably love to trade secrets with yours. She doesn't really understand the need for boundaries when it comes to my love life."

"Speaking of," Michael started, nodding across the room, "I feel like I should probably point that out to you."

I turned in the direction of his gaze and saw Lulu laughing with Johnny while he held his hand on the small of her back.

"Look, I don't want to be a hypocrite when I was just complaining about people meddling in my love life, but Lulu is my family. And I think you and me friends. So, as a friend, I'm just warning you that Johnny is major competition."

"Competition for what?" I asked, choosing to play dumb rather than divulge the details of my feelings for Lulu.

"Oh, come on. I have spent a lot of time with you and Lulu over the past few months. I know that you two have something going on. I just think you should know that Johnny and Lulu are practically legendary in this town. They were inseparable for a long time."

I finished off my glass of champagne and shook my head. "That was a long time ago. Lulu said that they're over."

"Johnny doesn't feel that way," he continued speaking while I watched the gentleman in question continue to flirt with her.

"How do you know that?"

"He said so himself at Ethan's bachelor party. Plus, I walked her down the aisle today, and it was hard to miss how he was staring her down. Maybe she doesn't see it, but practically everybody else does. Johnny's still in love with Lulu. So I'm just saying if you want something real with her, don't let him swoop in and ruin it."

_**(Maxie's POV)**_

I felt sick to my stomach, and for the first time in as long as I could remember, it was not from morning sickness. There I was, in the middle of a wedding reception that could easily have been considered the best I had ever coordinated, but all I could think about was how I had single-handedly given away everything that Lulu and I had worked since the creation of our company.

Granted, we were walking away with a substantial sum of money, but I knew she was going to be livid when I told her about the sale. And I had to tell her before she went home for the night because Mr. LeMontagne was going to have movers bringing his wife's things into the office first thing in the morning.

Fortunately, coming clean with Lulu was going to have to wait because it was time to toast the bride and groom. I texted Lulu to cue the photographer and videographer, and she immediately responded that she had already done so and had Sam ready to go for her maid of honor speech. She asked me to find Lucky for his.

"Fabulous," I muttered sarcastically under my breath.

I must have walked through the crowd four times before I finally spotted the father of my child, elbows up at the bar with a shot glass in front of him. No doubt he was miserable because of me, but there was no time for me to approach the conversation as a concerned girlfriend. Instead, I needed to rely on my skills as an expert event planner and ensure that the drunken best man could get through his toast without ruining the entire reception.

I approached the bar, saddling up next to him and calling the bartender over. "We're going to need a large glass of water and a cup of coffee, please."

"I'm not gonna drink that," Lucky slurred.

"We'll see about that," I commented, pulling the shot glass away from him and handing it off to a waiter who was passing by. "I can't have you getting up in front of all of these people in a drunken stupor."

"I'm a S-Spencer," he argued. "I can handle my liquor very well, thank you _kindly_."

The bartender handed me what I asked for and I pushed the coffee in front of Lucky. "Drink up."

"On one condition…"

"Oh, no, this is not a negotiation."

"You have to let me come over tonight so we can talk."

"You need to sleep this off tonight," I whispered, forcing the coffee cup into her hands. "Besides, even if you come over, you're just going to pass out."

"Maxie, I miss you," he whined, "Puh-lease!"

"Fine, I'll do whatever you need," I hissed. "Just drink the damn coffee and sober up so you don't ruin your brother's wedding!"

He smirked and took a sip. "You _love_ me, don't you? You really, really love me. So just tell me."

"Not here," I whispered.

"Then no coffee…." He threatened with a grin that practically melted my heart. He could convince me to do anything, even in a state of complete inebriation. But just talking to him was making my stress disappear. And I did want to talk to him. Unfortunately, I knew that telling him about the pregnancy when he was hammered was not the right decision. I had to settle for getting him through the next hour without causing a scene.

"You are infuriating!" I growled, not wanting him to realize how soft he was making me. "Fine, I love you, and you can come over tonight so we can talk, even though you're only going to pass out on my couch. Just, please, drink some coffee and pull yourself together before you get up there drunk and blow things up even more than they already have been."

_**(Lulu's POV)**_

Sam's toast to the newlyweds was short and sweet, just as we had rehearsed it. While I didn't completely understand the tradition of making your loved ones get up and offer their best string of clichés in front of hundreds of people, Maxie always insisted that we coach those giving the toasts so that they can, in her words, make beautiful memories for the happy couple. Lucky for me, Sam was happy to read one of our pre-written toasts rather than come up with her own speech that may or may not have satisfied Maxie's requirements.

When Lucky got up and took the microphone, I held my breath. I had lost count of how many drinks he had consumed, and obviously something was bothering him. He had been downright cold to me earlier in the day. I had seen my father go into full-blown self-destruction mode countless times in the past, and Lucky's behavior was eerily similar.

Before he began to speak, my phone vibrated in my hand. I looked down at the text message from Starr asking me to meet her in the hallway and frowned. She was panicking about telling Michael that Sonny was Dante's father and almost held up the entire ceremony when she cornered me right before I had to walk down the aisle. I understood that she wanted to be honest with her boyfriend, but the reality was that this secret was not either of ours to tell. I just needed to keep repeating that to her and hope that it stuck.

By the time I reached her, she was pacing the length of the hallway, practically wearing a hole in the hardwood flooring.

"I think you should take a few breaths," I instructed. "You look like you're going to be sick."

"They're practically drinking buddies, Lulu!" she spat, her voice reflective of the level of anxiety that she had, "They've been together _a lot_ all day, and it's a _family_ wedding, and I don't know how to not freak out about this!"

"Keep your voice down, please," I whispered.

"Look, I have no idea how you feel about Dante, but you should know that I am completely in love with Michael. I can't lie to him! I won't!"

"We have been over this," I sighed. "If Dante doesn't want anyone to know who his father is, who are we to start telling people?"

"But I don't want to hurt Michael, and by keeping this secret while he gets closer to Dante, that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm sure that I can convince Dante to tell the truth himself if I can just talk to hi-"

"Absolutely not! You cannot talk to Dante about this!"

"I'll be very understanding…"

"That's not the issue."

"Then what is it? Because I have to do something."

"If you talk to Dante about this, he's going to know that I told you, and then our relationship will be obliterated before it even really begins."

"Your relationship?" she questioned.

Even with all of the drama surrounding our conversation, it was impossible not to let the smile on my lips escape when my words sunk in. I had a _relationship_ with Dante. The last thing I was going to do was let a stupid, drunken slip-up get in the way.

"We're together, or at least we will be," I explained. "We talked for awhile last night, and he forgave me for missing his birthday. He wants to start with a clean slate."

"And let me guess," she groaned, "You neglected telling him about what I know?"

"He kept talking about how the past doesn't matter and we could start over… I wanted to tell him, but I freaked out. I just… I can't tell him that I betrayed his trust. And he'll never find out if you can just give this some time."

"Give it some time?" she questioned. "Meaning you're going to tell him the truth and make him tell Michael and Sonny about it?"

"Do I have to?" I whined, feeling m heart crash against my chest.

"Yes!" she argued, "And not just for the sake of my relationship with Michael. Lulu, each day that you keep this secret, you're sabotaging your future with Dante. You have to know that."

"I do," I admitted softly. "I'll figure this all out. Can you just give me a little time? Please?"

She looked really conflicted, but nodded her head in the end. "You have some time, but I'm not happy about this. Just take care of it – as soon as you can. Got it?"

"I promise," I finally let myself exhale and threw my arms around her in gratitude. "Thank you _so _much!"

She reluctantly returned my hug before heading back into the reception, leaving me to catch my breath and regain some perspective. I knew that Starr was right. I had told myself all of the things she was saying to me, but hearing it from her did not make me any less terrified. So when I felt someone come behind me and put a hand on my shoulder, I jumped.

"Hey, hey it's just me," Dante soothed. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh God," I exhaled, willing my heartbeat back to normal. "I-I'm fine. I just needed some air."

"In the hallway?" he questioned with a laugh.

"It's a little cleaner than inside," I explained, "There are far fewer people to share it with."

"Ah, I get it. See, I thought you were out here hiding while your brother gave his toast. But if you're just looking for your own personal oxygen supply, I can leave you to it."

Dante had always been a little flirtatious, but the grin on his face at that moment was downright sexy. In that moment, it was enough to make me forget all about my conversation with Starr. This man in front of me was not only sexy, but he could make any stress I was feeling melt away. He had always had a knack for that, but it seemed so much more powerful since I had been able to admit my feelings for him.

"I might be willing to share. That is, if Lucky didn't get up there and say something that is going to send the whole party into chaos."

"Nah, he stuck to the cue cards," he answered, stepping closer to me. His hands found my hips and that contact alone gave me goose bumps. "Have I ever told you about my lifelong goal to get the prettiest bridesmaid at a wedding to dance with me?"

"You haven't, but I bet if you were really nice, Sam would be more than happy to oblige."

"Sam looks great today, don't get me wrong," he continued, slowly drumming his fingers in place. "But unfortunately for her, the groom has this gorgeous sister who sets an impossible standard when it comes to bridesmaids."

I moved my arms up to wrap around his neck and hoped that it would be enough to distract him from the way he was making me blush. "So say you get this unnamed bridesmaid to agree to a dance. What's the end game?"

"Definitely a kiss," he answered softly, "And eventually the whole happily ever after with the marriage and the kids and the annual family trips to Brooklyn."

"Well, I can't make any promises about the rest of it, but I can help you with this part," I whispered as I moved up to my toes and pressed my lips against his. He responded and things got heated quickly. If we had been in private, I had no doubt that we would have gone farther than we had the night before.

I was so wrapped up in him that I didn't notice Lucky's presence until he physically pulled Dante away from me and landed a punch against his face.

"Lucky!" I screamed, "What the hell!"

Dante's back was turned to us, but I could tell he was in pain. Lucky circled him in a rage that I had never seen before. He was mumbling something incoherent, and I knew he was looking for a fight.

"Look, maybe I deserved that," Dante admitted, turning around to face Lucky and making the blood on his shirt visible, although I couldn't determine where on his face it was coming from. "Let's just take this outside and talk abo-"

Lucky wasted no time listening to Dante, shoving him against the wall and punching him hard in the stomach instead. I scrambled to get behind my brother and grabbed his arms, begging for him to stop.

"Lulu, back off," Lucky warned with a growl.

"You back off!" I argued, "Stop this! I get that you're mad, and we should talk about that. But Dante didn't do anything wrong!"

My comment must have been enough to turn his focus from Dante, because he spun around quickly to argue with me, inadvertently planting his elbow against my right eye and knocking me to the floor. Of course, it was at that exact moment that people started flooding out of the ballroom to see what the commotion was all about.

Maxie and I must have done a good job of lining up ample security for a Corinthos wedding, because in less than seconds, two security guards had Dante and Lucky separated. Ethan was at my side quickly, helping me back to my feet.

"What the hell happened!?" he barked at Lucky, who had tears in his eyes while he stood speechless in custody of a guard.

"It was an accident," I told Ethan softly, hearing the tears in my voice. I reached my fingers up to touch my eye and winced, feeling the first sensation of pain that left my head ringing. "Just go back in and enjoy your reception."

"You need to get that checked out," he instructed, pointing to my eye. "I'm going to take you to the hospital."

"No, you're not," I argued firmly. "This is your wedding reception, and you have a bride in there who deserves your full attention. I will be fine."

"Kristina will understand…"

"She doesn't have to," Johnny spoke up from behind us. "I'll take Lulu to GH to get checked out."

"I don't need to go to the hospital," I argued.

"You do," Dante spoke up from across the room. "Lulu, please?"

"You don't talk to her!" Lucky growled, struggling against the guard who had him to go after Dante again. That outburst was obviously the last straw for Mac, who pushed his way through the growing crowd to address Lucky and Dante.

"That is _enough!_" Mac scolded. "I will not have two of my best officers physically assaulting one another! Both of you are coming with me to the station _now_."

I watched the guards escort Dante and Lucky to the elevators with Mac right behind them and felt tears drip down my neck. Johnny and Ethan were speaking to me, but their words were virtually inaudible to me. All I could do was repeat the events of the past few minutes over and over in my head. It was bad that Lucky found out about Dante and me that way, but what was worse was that my brother was obviously losing control.

"Lulu," Johnny finally captured my attention when he took my hand in his. "Let's go. You'll get checked out at the hospital and everything is going to be fine."

I shook my head. "Somehow I doubt that."


End file.
